Marjorie Taylor Greene, the junior congresswoman out of Georgia, has made a splash on the national stage since she was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2020. She is a staunch Trump supporter and is one of many prominent election deniers still in the House of Representatives, and a recent resolution introduced in the House of Representatives only makes this fact more clear.
A Resolution on the Insurrection
Greene has recently come under fire for protesting the use of the term “insurrectionist” when referring to Donald Trump and other individuals who have been charged with crimes regarding the January 6 attack on the capitol.
A resolution was released on the floor of the House of Representatives by House Republicans, which would definitively conclude that Donald Trump did not engage, or participate in an insurrection or a rebellion against the United States government.
A Reaction to Colorado
This resolution comes ahead of oral arguments that are being held in Colorado, where an appeal has been made against a decision released by the state Supreme Court. The court concluded in 2023 that Donald Trump did, in fact, engage in an insurrection with his combined actions and inaction on January 6.
According to the 14th amendment of the United States Constitution, anyone who is found to be guilty of engaging in an insurrection or treason against the United States is ineligible to run for public office again. The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision effectively makes Trump’s campaign pointless in the state, given that he is not legally allowed to be on the ballot.
Outrage from Republicans
This is a development that has many Republicans, both civilians and lawmakers, understandably upset. Some people have pointed out that Donald Trump has not yet been found guilty in a court of law for engaging in an insurrection, and therefore the Colorado Supreme Court is out of line for ruling so.
However, the Constitution does not state that an individual has to be found formally guilty in a court of law to be ineligible to run for President. It simply says that anyone who participated in an insurrection against the United States government is ineligible to run for office, and the Colorado Supreme Court appears to have found that Donald Trump meets these guidelines, pending the current appeal.
A Resolution With Some Support
The resolution introduced by House Republicans seeks to dismantle that notion, once and for all. This is in wake of multiple court challenges that Donald Trump is facing across the country, both for his actions on January 6th and other criminal behaviors, which appear to have Republicans concerned about their reelection chances ahead of the 2024 general election.
The resolution was introduced in the house by Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and has already garnered 63 cosponsors to bring the resolution to the floor. In the Senate, JD Vance (R-OH) has also stated that he plans to introduce a similar measure there.
MTG With Opinions
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been a vocal election denier and sought a presidential pardon the day after January 6, released a statement after the introduction of the resolution that has since gone viral. She stated that “Anyone who calls President Trump an insurrectionist and calls any of us an insurrectionist is a liar!”
She went on to state that calling individuals involved in the events of January 6th insurrectionists was “dishonest,” and claimed that anyone who uses these terms is undeserving of the power that they hold. This is an obvious jab against her fellow congressmen who have sought to investigate the events of January 6.
A Viral Video
The comments immediately went viral after being posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. The video of her statement garnered significant attention from people on both sides of the aisle, and unfortunately for MTG, many people were not impressed.
Multiple comments regarding her statement were posted, calling MTG a liar, an insurrectionist, and “devoid of any moral compass.” One person even wondered if MTG “doth protest too much” regarding being called an insurrectionist, implying that the Congresswoman is concerned about being investigated for her part in the January 6 attack as well.
The Republicans in Trouble
Many of the commenters on her statement also debated whether the resolution is a ploy being introduced ahead of the 2024 election, a distraction technique of sorts. The current Congress has been rife with challenges from within the Republican conference, and many conservatives are not polling well ahead of reelection.
In a statement, though, Matt Gaetz denies this idea. He claimed that the resolution was introduced to counter what he, and other staunch Trump supporters, see as attempts to remove a popular candidate from the ballot simply because he is popular.
In the Wake of the D.C. Opinion
These congressional actions come in the wake of a decision released out of the Washington D.C. circuit court, where Donald Trump is facing four felony convictions for his actions surrounding January 6th. Trump has been arguing that his actions surrounding that day are subject to presidential immunity, and the country has been waiting with bated breath to hear what the court has to say.
The opinion released was a resounding denial of Trump’s claims of immunity. The appeals court stated that, for the purposes of this trial, Donald Trump is an average citizen like everybody else, and is subject to the same laws as anyone else. They went further, stating that the idea that a former president is immune from prosecution for the rest of his life is absurd, and soundly unconstitutional.
Republicans Conflicted
Whether the resolution to declare Trump innocent of engaging in an insurrection passes remains to be seen. While the resolution has garnered some co-sponsors, there are many moderate Republicans who have stated that letting the court cases play out is the right move to take when it comes to handling Trump.
If it does ultimately make it to the floor for a vote, it’s anybody’s guess whether Speaker Mike Johnson would be able to gather his conference for a unanimous vote. Trump is controversial, even in the Republican party, and this new resolution is only the latest example of exactly why.
