In a heated exchange during a committee hearing, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene traded personal insults, with Ocasio-Cortez referring to Greene as a "baby girl."
The altercation occurred on Thursday night as the House Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena.
The verbal clash was initiated by Greene, who made a derogatory personal remark about Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas, criticizing her "fake eyelashes." Ocasio-Cortez intervened, leading to a fiery exchange of words between the two congresswomen. At one point, Ocasio-Cortez addressed Greene, saying, "Oh girl, baby girl... don't even play."
Committee Chairman James Comer struggled to maintain order amidst the escalating tension, pleading for calm and stating,"I have two hearing aids, I'm very deaf," in an attempt to quell the shouting.
Ocasio-Cortez and Greene have a history of public disagreements, with Greene previously accusing Ocasio-Cortez of behaving like a 'teenage girl,' calling her a "chicken," and labeling her a "little communist."
The committee hearing, initially convened to discuss whether to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to release an audio recording of President Biden's interview with special counsel Ben Hur, quickly devolved into a chaotic shouting match. Representatives traded barbs and spoke over each other, with the proceedings captured on camera.
The dispute began with Greene questioning whether "any of the Democrats on this committee are employing Judge Merchan's daughter?" She was referring to Representative Dan Goldman, who has hired a political consulting firm that employs the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, presiding over Trumps criminal trial in New York.
Crockett responded to Greene's query, asking, "Please tell me what that has to do with Merrick Garland." Greene retorted, "I dont think you know what youre here for I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what youre reading." Chairman Comer intervened at this point, calling for order.
Ocasio-Cortez then stepped in, deeming Greene's comments "absolutely unacceptable" and challenging her,
How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person?' She called for Greene's words to be "taken down," a procedure allowing a speaker to retract or amend their comments if deemed inappropriate.
Greene responded to Ocasio-Cortez's request by asking, "Are your feelings hurt?" Ocasio-Cortez retorted, repeatedly insisting, "Move her words down." Greene then said, 'aww' to which Ocasio-Cortez replied: "Oh! Girl, baby, girl, don't even play!" Greene responded, "Baby, girl? I don't think so," and Ocasio-Cortez replied: "We are gonna move and we are gonna take your words down."
Chairman Comer suspended the hearing to decide whether to strike Greene's words from the record. During the pause, Ocasio-Cortez could be heard saying "No way is that being allowed" and "not today." She added, "We're not going to do a smarmy apology. She has to actually apologize. And that needs to be up to Ms. Crockett as well. It needs to be sincere."
Greene later agreed to strike her words but refused to apologize, proceeding to call Ocasio-Cortez "not intelligent." Throughout the heated exchange, other representatives shouted and jeered while Comer attempted to restore order.
Crockett later sought clarification on whether Greene's personal attack on her was permissible under committee rules. She asked Comer, "Im just curious. Just to better understand your ruling. If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebodys bleach blonde bad built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?" Greene responded by repeatedly telling Crockett to "calm down," which led Crockett to yell, "don't tell me to calm down, you're talking all this noise, but you can't take it."
As the shouting continued, Comer gestured to his ears and said, 'I don't know if you noticed, but I have two hearing aids. I'm very deaf, I'm not understanding, everyone is shouting. I am doing the best I can."
Crockett later posted on social media, "So MTG wanted to talk about my appearance in COMMITTEE?! This is what happens when mentally deficient people who cant read and follow rules or just dont give a damn somehow end up in CONGRESS!"
The committee eventually voted to hold Merrick Garland in criminal contempt, moving the motion to the full House for a vote. This decision followed President Biden's assertion of executive privilege over the audio tapes of his interview with ex-special counsel Robert Hur, a move intended to protect Garland from criminal charges.
Republicans have seized on a line in Hur's report about the president's mishandling of classified documents, stating Biden appeared to be an "elderly man with a poor memory" and demanded audio evidence. Garland criticized the move, saying earlier Thursday that the DOJ has gone to "extraordinary lengths" to provide the committee with information.
"We have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that committees get responses to their legitimate requests, but this is not one," Garland told reporters ahead of a hearing to advance his contempt charge.
Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., countered, "The White House is asserting privilege over the recordings, but it has already waived privilege by releasing the transcript of the interview."
Ocasio-Cortez and Greene's animosity is long-standing. In 2021, Greene called Ocasio-Cortez a "little communist" and "not an American," labeling her a "hate-America terrorist sympathizer." Ocasio-Cortez responded on Twitter, saying "first of all, I'm taller than her."
Greene has repeatedly challenged Ocasio-Cortez to a debate, telling reporters, "She's a chicken. She doesn't want to debate. I don't think the debate has been agreed to yet." The pair clashed again last year when Greene accused Ocasio-Cortez of acting like a "teenage girl" after Ocasio-Cortez accused Greene of "trafficking in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."
"I have repeatedly asked you to debate me, but you have been a coward and can't even respond. But you go on CNN and lie about me," Greene tweeted. "When are you going to be an adult and actually debate me on policy instead of run your mouth like a teenage girl?"
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