Zeldin Speaks On Decision To Support Marjorie Taylor Greene

LONG ISLAND, NY — On Friday, Rep. Lee Zeldin addressed his decision to vote in support of Georgia Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, who was stripped by the U.S. House of key committee positions after statements on social media supporting conspiracy theories, denying that aspect of 9/11 ever happened, and claiming school shootings were staged.

Members of Congress from Long Island were divided on Thursday night's vote to remove Taylor Greene from her committee positions. Zeldin, who represents New York's 1st District, and Rep. Andrew Garbarino from New York's 2nd District, voted in favor of Greene.

11 Republican representatives voted with Democrats to strip Greene of her assigned positions on education and labor committees, three from New York. Zeldin and Garbarino, however, voted with the GOP majority in support of Greene.

When asked about his vote, Zeldin issued a statement to Patch: "I strongly disagree with Congresswoman Greene’s statements prior to her entry to Congress, which peddled bizarre conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic tropes, and perpetuated dangerous falsehoods about the September 11 attacks. They were indefensible, wacky, harmful, and wrong," he said.

However, he added: "Two years ago, Republicans held a member of their own party accountable for remarks he made while serving as a Member of Congress, stripping him of his committee assignments and passing a resolution on the House floor condemning white supremacy and naming names. Unfortunately, over the last two years, House Democrats have made it crystal clear they will run the House chamber under two extremely different sets of standards: one for Republicans and one much lower standard to be applied to Democrats. Their hypocrisy has become political art."

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, he said, "awards committee chairmanships to Democrats who peddle bizarre conspiracy theories and encourage political violence against Republicans. Whether you compromise yourself with foreign spies, launch anti-Semitic attacks, or encourage violence in our streets, you will be elevated within their ranks with impunity."

Democrats are setting their moral compass of right and wrong based on party affiliation, Zeldin said. "This is all shameful political sport and theatrics for them. With control of the House chamber, House Democrats are conning rank and file members to be role players in their hyper-partisan sideshow. No one should play along with Pelosi’s act as long as she refuses to hold her own to account simply because they are Democrats.”

Others spoke out on Zeldin and Garbarino's votes: The votes tell "our kids in NY02 that conspiracy theories, assassination threats, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, outright lies and lack of humanity are all okay. It's not okay. It's shameful," wrote Liuba Grechen Shirley, who is a community organizer who ran against Garbarino for the seat vacated by Peter King last year.

Greene has famously questioned if the Parkland, Florida school shooting was a hoax, along with the attack on the Pentagon during 9/11. She's been captured on video espousing conspiracy theories from QAnon that involve body doubles, space lasers, and Satanic cabals.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Christine Bennett released the statement after the House vote:

"Today, Reps. Lee Zeldin and Andrew Garbarino rejected a bipartisan effort to rebuke dangerous extremism, caving to anti-Semitic, racist, and pro-violence conspiracy theory QAnon enthusiasts, and voted to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene, GOP frontwoman, on the panel entrusted with our children's education.

"Instead of taking a stand with members of their own party against the hatred and bigotry growing within the House Republican caucus, Zeldin and Garbarino voted to reward QAnon enthusiast and 9/11 truther Marjorie Taylor Greene with several powerful House committees assignments including the Committee on Education and Labor, even after Greene's documented belief that Parkland and Newtown shootings were hoaxes."

Garbarino's office issued the following statement:

"Like many of my constituents, I am deeply troubled by the disturbing comments Rep. Greene made before she was a member of Congress, and I wholeheartedly rebuke her previous words and actions. I am particularly offended by her questioning of 9/11. As my constituents know all too well, 9/11 was not only real—it was one of the worst days in our history. I personally lost friends and loved ones, from those who were murdered on that horrific day, to first responders who lost their battles fighting health complications following the attack. The aftermath continues to haunt our communities to this day.

"As elected officials, we are held to a higher standard —hateful, racist, and anti-Semitic remarks have no place in the people's House. This type of rhetoric helps no one, and only drives our nation further apart at a time when we so desperately need to unite. However, I do not believe that Congress should begin the precedent of stripping individuals from their committee assignments based on statements made prior to being a Member of Congress," he said. "Rep. Greene has since publicly apologized on the House floor for her offensive behavior. I will be the first person in line to hold Rep. Greene accountable for her future actions and remarks as a Member of Congress. This institution has survived since the birth of the U.S. Constitution, and all members have a duty to be examples of civility for generations of Americans to come."

With reporting by Jacqueline Sweet.