House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is brushing off a censure resolution aimed at Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for her comments about Israel.
On Thursday, a reporter asked Jeffries about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) resolution against Tlaib and if he had a response to it.
“I haven’t seen the resolution,” the Democratic congressman responded.
However, he went on, “The notion that with all of the challenges we are confronting right now, House Republicans are racing to once again lift up something that Marjorie Taylor Greene is doing tells us that their focus continues to be in the wrong place.”
Jeffries insisted Democrats will focus on economic issues, and took a shot at the majority party as he said, “Clearly, House Republicans continue to be driven by the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos, Jim Jordan, and others. And they do not have the best interest of the American people at heart.”
Watch the video below:
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) says House Republicans are trying to “lift up” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for her comments about Israel, and that “tells us their focus continues to be in the wrong place.” pic.twitter.com/lt3YVUT9EX
— The Recount (@therecount) October 26, 2023
Earlier in the day, Greene introduced the censure resolution and accused Tlaib of engaging in “antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol complex.”
Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, has been highly critical of Israel, which she claims is an apartheid state.
She has stood by claims promulgated by Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and carried out a massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, that Israel bombed a hospital, killing hundreds.
Despite an assessment from U.S. intelligence officials that the blast was caused by an errant rocket launch from within Gaza, Tlaib has continued to blame Israel.
In a statement on Monday, she said, “Media outlets and third-party analysts have raised doubts about claims and evidence offered by both Israel and the Gaza Ministry of Health, and I agree with the United Nations that an independent investigation is necessary.”
“I cannot uncritically accept Israel’s denials of responsibility as fact, especially in light of confirmation from the World Health Organization that Israel has bombed numerous medical facilities in Gaza and reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of ongoing threats from the Israeli military to evacuate hospitals,” she added.
It was unclear what “insurrection” Greene was referring to. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an insurrection is “an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government.”
She appeared to be referring to an Oct. 18 pro-Palestinian protest in the Cannon House Office Building. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested for occupying the rotunda of the building. However, they were not seen revolting against the government.
It was not clear why Greene believed it should be characterized as an insurrection, or what evidence she had Tlaib led the protest as it was organized by progressive Jewish groups.
Tlaib has also dismissed the censure resolution, calling it “unhinged” and “deeply Islamophobic.”