A congressional hearing last week erupted into a heated exchange between Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). The confrontation took place during a House Oversight Committee meeting on May 16, originally convened to vote on holding U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt. The hearing quickly devolved into personal attacks, with Greene targeting Crockett’s appearance.
Heated Exchange in the Committee Room
During the meeting, Rep. Crockett questioned Greene’s awareness of the agenda. Greene retorted with, “I don’t think you know what you are here for… I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.” This comment sparked immediate backlash from Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) responded first, stating, “I would like to move to take down Ms. Greene’s words. That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person?”
Greene dismissed the criticism, asking, “Are your feelings hurt?” This led Ocasio-Cortez to retort, “Girl. Baby girl, don’t even play… We are gonna move and take your words down.”
Crockett responded by attacking Greene’s appearance as well, saying, “I’m just curious, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach-blonde bad-built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?” GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna advised Crockett to calm down, but Crockett refused. The Republicans voted to keep Greene’s comments on the record, and Greene declined to apologize.
The incident went viral, leading to further discussions about the exchange. On May 19, Crockett appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper. Tapper asked if Greene’s comments about her eyelashes were racist. Crockett replied, “I think her specifically doing it to me, yes, that was the intent.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett Defending Her Stance
Crockett elaborated, saying, “Women wear makeup, we wear lashes, we wear all types of things to beautify ourselves. But MAGA has historically been on social media doing the things where they’re saying, ‘Oh, she’s Black with lashes and nails and hair, and so she’s ghetto.’” She accused Greene of amplifying this rhetoric for the MAGA crowd. “Yes, I absolutely think that she only did it to be racist towards me,” Crockett concluded.
Crockett expressed no regrets about her response to Greene’s remarks. She stated, “I signed up to be a member of Congress. That didn’t mean that I was supposed to walk into a position where I’m going to walk in and be disrespected.” She emphasized that the House is already a hostile work environment and criticized MAGA for not respecting rules or the law. “The problem with MAGA is that MAGA does not respect rules, nor do they respect the law,” she said, linking this attitude to their support of Trump amid his legal troubles.
Crockett also highlighted the importance of understanding committee rules. She clarified that her pointed question was to understand what comments would be allowed, without directly naming Greene. “I specifically asked a question. And I didn’t even mention her name. It was for clarification,” she explained.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett remains steadfast in her belief that Greene’s comments were racially charged and inappropriate, highlighting the ongoing tension and lack of decorum in congressional proceedings.