- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called a Rhode Island lawmaker who is Italian and Jewish “Rep. Mussolini”.
- Greene addressed the comment to Congressman David Cicilline after he said he wanted Greene to stop delaying House votes.
- Cicilline responded by denouncing Mussolini and saying that Greene “can get lost”.
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Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island retaliated against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after she referred to him as “Rep. Mussolini”, a reference to Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
Cicilline, a Democrat, tweeted a response on Wednesday, denouncing both Mussolini and Greene.
“Mussolini was a fascist dictator allied with Adolf Hitler, who murdered six million Jews,” said Cicilline. “Marjorie Taylor Greene can get lost.”
—David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) March 11, 2021
Greene’s reference to Mussolini came in response to Cicilline telling reporters that he would propose a rule change to prevent the Georgia Republican from delaying House votes simply because she did not like a bill. The council approved President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package on Wednesday, with all Republicans opposing the bill.
Greene tried to delay approval of the bill by making a motion to suspend, which would require every legislator to come to the floor and vote on whether to remain in session. All Democrats and 40 Republicans voted against his motion, so the postponement did not occur, but his attempt delayed House procedures for about an hour.
It is not the first time that Greene has used these tactics to postpone the vote on legislation that she does not support.
Cicilline said, after Wednesday’s incident, that she wanted to prevent Greene from doing so, proposing a rule change that would only allow members of a committee to request the postponement, Newsweek reported.
When asked about Cicilline’s plan, Greene referred to the deputy as the Italian dictator.
“You mean Mr Mussolini? Not only did Democrats unilaterally withdraw my committees, now they want to remove all the powers I have to represent my district,” Greene told Newsweek. “Democrats run the House of Hypocrites with tyrannical control.”
Greene was stripped of her duties on the committee last month after reports revealed that she expressed online public support for violence against Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.