Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was criticized for attacking three fellow Republicans who vowed to vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's appointment to the Supreme Court.
Greene claimed Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah)—who voted along with Democrats to move Jackson's nomination out of the Senate Judicial Committee after it deadlocked—were "pro-pedophile." Each of them pledged to vote to confirm her on Thursday, when a full Senate vote is expected.
Greene used her official twitter account to smear her fellow Republicans.
During Jackson's confirmation hearings, top Republicans including Senator Josh Hawley (Missouri), accused Jackson of being too lenient on child sex offenders, pointing to her past statements on sex offender registries and civil commitment, in addition to her views on mandatory minimums.
Conservatives who suggested Jackson's rulings were evidence she "supports pedophilia" were quickly fact checked by The New York Times, which noted "they omitted the context of her remarks and sentencing decisions."
Greene's statements are especially hypocritical given her support for GOP Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida who is currently embroiled in a federal child sex trafficking investigation and former Republican President Donald Trump who was criticized for his relationship with child sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and his statements about walking into the dressing room of Miss Teen USA.
Federal authorities are investigating Gaetz on child sex trafficking charges after it emerged the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a probe into whether he paid a 17-year-old girl and took her across state lines for sexual purposes.
Gaetz denied allegations he violated sex trafficking laws and engaged in other sexual misconduct while in office by citing the age of consent.
In May 2021, Gaetz's associate Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector in Seminole County, Florida, formally pleaded guilty to six federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor.
He also pleaded guilty to producing a false identification document, identity theft, wire fraud, stalking and conspiracy.
Greene's tweet was swiftly criticized and many called for her to be expelled from Congress.
In response to her tweet, Senator Collins told reporters Tuesday:
"She obviously can say whatever she wishes."
"But that's clearly ludicrous and, sadly, typical of what I expect from her."
Greene has repeatedly been suspended on Twitter for violating the platform's misinformation policies, previously tweeting QAnon conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the Holocaust.
Her personal account was permanently suspended, leaving only her official congressional account to spew her vitriol online.
