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By Gabe Whisnant
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The heated exchange between Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas during a recent House Oversight Committee hearing nearly turned into a larger dispute, according to Crockett.
On May 16, the two traded verbal barbs during a hearing to consider whether Attorney General Merrick Garland should be held in contempt of Congress over his refusal to turn over audio recordings of President Joe Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.
Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York could be heard speaking out in defense of Crockett during her exchange with Greene. However, Crockett said Democrat Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts was also ready to get involved in the fray.
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"When AOC jumped in so quickly, what people didn't see off camera was that Ayanna Pressley was ready to jump in and stood up and... it was gonna get into a fight," Crockett reportedly told The Independent.
A spokesperson for Crockett's office said in a phone call to Newsweek on Wednesday afternoon that Crockett did not intend for her statements to The Independent to be interpreted as a "physical fight." The spokesperson also provided text from Crockett's recorded interview with the outlet that read more specifically, "that Ayanna Pressley was ready to jump in and stood up and you know, it was gonna get into the fight as well."
"To be clear, the comments were referring to Rep. Pressley, like Rep. Ocasio Cortez, being prepared to offer rhetorical support, and they in no way implied the hearing was about to become physical," Crockett said in a statement to Newsweek sent Wednesday afternoon via text message.
Newsweek emailed the offices of Greene, Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez for comment on Wednesday.
During the May 16 hearing, Crockett asked Greene: "Do you know what we're here for?" after she brought up a topic seemingly unrelated to the purpose of the hearing.
"I don't think you know what you're here for...I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you're reading," Greene said in response.
Ocasio-Cortez intervened, immediately calling Greene to order.
"That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person," she said.
Greene refused to back down, asking Ocasio-Cortez if her feelings were "hurt."
Crockett later asked the committee chair, Kentucky Republican James Comer, why Greene's words were not viewed as a personal attack.
"I'm just curious. To better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's bleached blonde, bad-built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?" Crockett asked.
Greene later agreed to have her words taken down for the proceedings to continue, as requested by Comer, but she refused to apologize to Crockett.
A few days later, Greene posted a video of herself working out, seemingly in response to the comments made about her body.
"Yes my body is built and strong 💪 NOT with nips, tucks, plastic, or silicone, but through a healthy lifestyle," she posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Crockett launched a new line of merchandise to capitalize on her spat with Greene.
Two weeks after the exchange went viral, Crockett slammed Greene and called her "a bully" on an episode of The View.
"Unfortunately, there has been this situation with Marjorie where she is a bully," Crockett said on the show. "And no one ever responds, and so the idea was she would just get away with it again."
Crockett told The Independent that she doesn't regret the verbal altercation.
"The bigger story that kind of emerged from this was what women of color face at work," she said. "When you're by yourself, people take liberties, but when they realize that you're not by yourself, it definitely puts them in a different light and puts them in a different stance."
Update 6/19/24, 7:15 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 6/19/24, 6:52 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 6/19/24, 5:35 p.m. ET: This headline was updated with comment from a spokesperson for Crockett's office and additional information for context.
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