Marjorie Taylor Greene calls David Cicilline ‘Rep. Mussolini’
Far-right Republican makes accusation after Democrat tries to stop her adjourning US House sessions; Jewish Cicilline says she ‘can get lost’ for comparing him to Hitler ally
US Rep. David Cicilline speaks during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on antitrust on Capitol Hill on July 29, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP, File)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican US congresswoman from Georgia not known for being understated, has called Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline “Mussolini,” after the Italian dictator, for seeking a rule change to stop her disruptive tactics.
Attempting to frustrate the passage Wednesday of US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic stimulus, Greene on several occasions sought to exploit a rule that allows individual House members to seek an adjournment.
The House, including many Republicans, loudly said “No” in a voice vote, but Greene, a freshman, then exercised her right to seek a time-consuming roll call.
That led Cicilline to propose stripping the right to adjourn from members who do not belong to committees. Last month, the House of Representatives stripped Greene of her committee memberships for peddling threats and conspiracy theories, including some with anti-Semitic themes.
US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Newsweek asked Greene for comment on Cicilline’s proposal.
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“Do you mean Rep. Mussolini?” she said. “Not only did Democrats unilaterally strip away my committees, now they want to remove any powers I have to represent my district. The Democrats run the House of Hypocrites with tyrannical control.”
“I’m an Italian and a Jew,” Cicilline shot back on Twitter. “Mussolini was a fascist dictator in league with Adolf Hitler, who murdered six million Jews. Marjorie Taylor Greene can get lost.”
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