Marjorie Taylor Greene will not resign amid calls for her expulsion from Congress
California Democrat Jimmy Gomez will introduce his resolution to expel Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House of Representatives as early as next Tuesday. The resolution has already garnered more than 30 Democratic cosponsors, but a resolution to expel a member must receive two-thirds support of the House — which would require nearly 70 Republicans to join in the effort.
It is not yet clear when the resolution might receive a vote.
A source familiar with efforts to pass the resolution tells CBS News some Republican offices have expressed interest in joining the congressman's resolution but have concerns based on the political and security climates in Washington, D.C. and their home districts.
CBS News has also learned that Gomez's office has received numerous online threats from supporters of Greene after Gomez announced he would introduce a resolution to expel her from Congress.
A spokesman for Greene told CBS News she had no plans to resign.
"They are coming after me because I'm a threat to their goal of Socialism. They are coming after me because they know I represent the people, not the politicians. They are coming after me because like President Trump, I will always defend conservative values. They want to take me out because I represent the people. And they absolutely hate it," Greene said in a statement.
In a Wednesday night statement announcing his plan, Gomez cited Green's amplification of conspiracy theories relating to 9/11 and the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as well as her past support for social media posts calling for violence against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic politicians.
"Such advocacy for extremism and sedition not only demands her immediate expulsion from Congress, but it also merits strong and clear condemnation from all of her Republican colleagues, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell," Gomez said "Her very presence in office represents a direct threat against the elected officials and staff who serve our government, and it is with their safety in mind, as well as the security of institutions and public servants across our country, that I call on my House colleagues to support my resolution to immediately remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from this legislative body."
Gomez's call for Greene's resignation has been echoed by the parents of some of the students who were killed during the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida.
"She should be removed from Congress today," Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter died that day, said in an interview. "To know that there are people like her who are inciting and inspiring others disgusts me. The idea that she got elected is a stain on our nation. But it can be fixed and it needs to be."
Connecticut Democrat Jahana Hayes — who represents the district where Newtown, the site of another school shooting, is located — sent a letter to House Republican leadership and the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx, to strip Greene of her new assignment to that committee.
"The idea that we have a sitting member of Congress trafficking in conspiracy theories, calling mass school shootings false flags, re-traumatizing families, harassing victims of school shootings, it's dangerous," Hayes told CBS News.
One of her colleagues, Virginia Democrat Jennifer Wexton, joined her, tweeting, "Our children deserve better than this repulsive behavior."
Ryan Petty, whose daughter was also killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, called Greene's comments that the shooting was a "false flag" operation "incredibly hurtful to the families, those of us that lost loved ones that day."
"The pain is very real," he said in an interview with CBS News.
He added that it concerned him to see Greene placed on the Education and Labor Committee.
"I sit on the Florida State Board of Education. I'm certain I would be held accountable for accusations and conspiracy theories that I put out there. And I think she should be also. I don't think anyone that claims tragedies like Sandy Hook and Parkland were false flag operations has any business dealing with education policy in this country," he said.
Nikole Killion and Kimberly Brown contributed reporting.