Top Republicans In House and Senate Condemn MTG's Comments

WASHINGTON, DC —Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California), the highest-ranking Republican in the House, spoke out against Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-14th-Rome) Tuesday for comments Greene made last week comparing the House mask mandate to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Other high-ranking Republicans in the House and Senate also had their say about Greene's comments.

Meanwhile, Greene spent the morning Tweeting about the subject, seeking to clarify some of her remarks, while doubling down on others. She also charged members of the Democratic party with antisemitism.

"Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling," McCarthy said in a statement "Let me be clear: the House Republican Conference condemns this language."

Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), the No. 2 House Republican, responded to Greene's comments through a spokesperson, according to CNN.com.

"Rep. Scalise does not agree with these comments and condemns these comparisons to the Holocaust," said spokesperson Lauren Fine.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York), who recently replaced Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) as the No. 3 House Republican, also responded with a Tweet.

"Equating mask wearing and vaccines to the Holocaust belittles the most significant human atrocities ever committed. We must all work together to educate our fellow Americans on the unthinkable horrors of the Holocaust. #NeverAgain," Stefanik wrote Tuesday morning.

Also on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) spoke out against Greene's comments, according to CNN

"Once again an outrageous and reprehensible comment," McConnell said.

Last week, Greene made her incendiary remarks while appearing on the conservative podcast/TV show "The Water Cooler with David Brody," According to CNN, Greene accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of being a hypocrite for asking GOP members to prove they have all been vaccinated before members of the House can be in the chamber without a mask.

"You know, we can look back at a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany," Greene said. "And this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about."

Later in the week, Greene said she stood by her comments and that she "said nothing wrong."

On Tuesday, in addition to appearing at a Local Government Services Day event in Ringgold, Greene addressed the controversy in a series of Tweets.

Responding to comments from conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who referred to the "bizarrely nutso Holocaust analogy," Greene sought to clarify her own comments, slightly. Then, she criticized some Democrats for supporting Hamas.

"I never compared it to the Holocaust, only the discrimination against Jews in early Nazi years. Stop feeding into the left wing media attacks on me. Everyone should be concerned about the squads support for terrorists and discrimination against unvaxxed people. Why aren’t they?" she wrote.

Later, Greene fired off several Tweets about Democrats supporting terrorists and discriminating against people who refuse to wear a mask or get vaccinated.

"It's never been more important than now to stand up against forced vaccinations and mask mandates that the left is using to discriminate against Americans who refuse to comply," Greene wrote.

Greene then made a similar claim to the one she made last week, though she stopped short of making the specific Nazi comparison, instead writing: "(Democrats) attempts to shame, ostracize and brand Americans who choose not to get vaccinated or wear a mask are reminiscent of the great tyrants in history. who did the same to those would not comply."