Republicans are at a crossroads in the House with Greene while Democrats threaten to act, and Republican Party members of Congress “will have to decide who they want to be,” a Republican Party senator said on Tuesday.
“They want to be the party of government and limited fiscal responsibility, free markets, peace through force and pro-life or they want to be the party of conspiracy theories and the QAnon,” Sen. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota and a member of the GOP leadership said. “I think that is the decision they have to face. It is a big distraction for them now and not in a good way.”
“I think our party needs to make it very clear that it does not represent us at all,” said Republican Senator Mitt Romney for Utah. “Our big tent is not big enough to accommodate conservatives and crazy people.”
Another Republican senator went on to say on Tuesday that he would “have a hard time” supporting Greene to remain on the House Education and Work Committee after she supported the idea that the 2018 Parkland massacre was a “false flag” operation .
“Personally, I would have a hard time supporting, for example, your views on the school shootings being staged and being on the Education Committee,” North Dakota Republican Senator Kevin Cramer told CNN. “Royal authority has moral authority.”
“It’s obviously worrying,” added Republican Senator John Hoeven, a Republican from North Dakota.
Green responded to some of the criticism on Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
“Too bad that some Republican senators are obsessed with me, instead of preparing to defend President Trump from the radical left,” she wrote. “Focus on ending the witch hunt. Do your job!”
Greene may meet with her GOP leader – the minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, of California – on Tuesday night, but it is not clear whether McCarthy will take steps to remove her from his committees or just have a discussion with she.
Meanwhile, Democrats have promised to propose a resolution that would remove Greene from his committees if McCarthy fails to act. The resolution will be presented to the House Rules Committee on Wednesday. It is unclear when that would be the case in McCarthy’s inaction.
Anyone who argues that the shooting was a false flag is “a madman or a sadist,” said Senator Marco Rubio.
“These were royal families,” he added. “These were real children who died.”
Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott called Greene’s response in Parkland “completely wrong and very disappointing”.
“I was there right after the shooting. I met with the families and went to the funerals … I am still close to those families,” said Scott.
Several Republican senators have raised serious concerns about the types of conspiracy theories Greene has publicized as dangerous to the future of the Republican Party and the country.
“I can talk about this general conspiracy theory, on top,” said Rubio. “Some of these people, I don’t know if they really believe it or just tell it to be noticed. Others can really believe it and believe it or, anyway, it’s not good for the party. But it’s also not good for the country.”
The way House Republican leaders end up deciding to deal with Greene will also “have an impact” on how people view the Republican Party as a whole, Cramer said.
“I don’t think many Republicans would adhere to her philosophy, but the tent can only be so big … There has to be … some kind of guardrail. I’m not in the Chamber, I’m not part of that leadership, but as they deal with it will have an impact on how people see the party for sure, “said Cramer when asked about the ramifications for the party if the Republican Party does not act.
Even so, some senators refused to comment on Greene. Senator Roy Blunt, a leading Republican running for reelection in Missouri in 2022, said he would let the House decide how to deal with Greene.
Iowa governor Senator Chuck Grassley argued that he does not “know enough about her” to comment.
“I don’t know enough about it,” Grassley told CNN. “There are 435 members in the House. I have a hard time keeping up with what 100 senators are doing. So you will have to ask someone who follows you better than me.”
When CNN started reading a comment from Greene, he interrupted, saying, “I don’t want to comment on your interpretation of her comments. I want to hear what she said.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who remains a close ally of former President Donald Trump, would not condemn Greene on Tuesday, arguing before he can judge that he wants to “know what the facts are.”
Graham suggested, without any evidence to the contrary, that he wants to be sure that Greene’s social media posts, which are under scrutiny, are accurate and have not been “manipulated”.
When a reporter reported that several of the congresswoman’s comments are on video, Graham replied, “She will have to tell me if it is necessary,” adding that he did not see the video.
The South Carolina Republican also said he would like to hear from you directly about “what is needed, what is not. What position do you have today? And if your position is different today, why?”
CNN’s Ted Barrett and Annie Grayer contributed to this report.