McCarthy, Stefanik, Scalise rebuke Marjorie Taylor Greene's comparison of COVID-19 vaccine rules to Holocaust

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House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other top House Republicans Tuesday condemned recent comments by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene comparing mask-wearing to Nazi practices of forcing Jews to wear yellow stars, comments that Greene doubled down on multiple times in recent days. 

"Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling," McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a statement. "The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling."

"Equating mask wearing and vaccines to the Holocaust belittles the most significant human atrocities ever committed," House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said in a statement. "We must all work together to educate our fellow Americans on the unthinkable horrors of the Holocaust."

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., also condemns Greene's rhetoric, according to spokesperson Lauren Fine. 

"He does not agree with these comments and condemns these comparisons to the Holocaust," Fine said. "We also need to be speaking out strongly against the dangerous anti-Semitism that is growing in our streets and in the Democrat party, resulting in an alarming number of horrific violent attacks against Jews."

Greene, R-Ga., has caused massive headaches for House Republicans with her words and actions. She's also combatively confronted Democratic House members and has a long history of supporting conspiracy theories online, although she has denounced the QAnon conspiracy theory that she once espoused. Greene was stripped of her committee assignments by Democrats earlier this year. 

In her latest comments, Greene last week on the right-wing network Real America's Voice compared House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., requiring mask-wearing to "where people were told to wear a gold star and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany." 

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That comment and other recent behavior by Greene and her aides has led to stepped-up calls from Democrats for Greene's expulsion from the House, or at least for McCarthy to verbally condemn her. 

"Rep. Greene’s anti-Semitic language comparing the systematic murder of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust to wearing a mask is beyond disturbing," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., tweeted. "She is a deeply troubled person who needs to apologize & resign. @GOPLeader needs to address her antisemitism."

Greene doubled and tripled down on the comparisons of masks and vaccine requirements to Jews being forced to wear a yellow star in multiple tweets Tuesday. She said, "Nazi practices have already begun on our youth… Show your VAX papers or no in person class for you. This is exactly what I was saying about the gold star."

"At a time when the Jewish people face increased violence and threats, anti-Semitism is on the rise in the Democrat Party and is completely ignored by Speaker Nancy Pelosi," McCarthy continued Tuesday. "Americans must stand together to defeat anti-Semitism and any attempt to diminish the history of the Holocaust. Let me be clear: the House Republican Conference condemns this language."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also slammed Greene in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday. 

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"I note that this morning, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican congresswoman from Georgia, once again compared preparations taken against COVID to the Holocaust. These are sickening, reprehensible comments and she should stop this vile language immediately," Schumer said.

Greene's comments also earned condemnation from Republican Jewish Coalition Chairman Matt Brooks.

"Please educate yourself so that you can realize how absolutely wrong and inappropriate it is to compare proof of vaccination with the 6million Jews who were exterminated by the Nazis," Brooks said of Greene. "You’re an embarrassment to yourself and the GOP."

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Brooks also thanked McCarthy for his statement condemning Greene, saying it was "greatly appreciated." 

Greene said in a statement Tuesday, responding to McCarthy's rebuke, that "The media and Democrats and everyone feeding into it is allowing them to hide the truth, which is the disgusting anti-Semitism within the Democrat Party."

"Their attempts to shame, ostracize, and brand Americans who choose not to get vaccinated or wear a mask are reminiscent of the great tyrants of history who did the same to those who would not comply," Greene added. "I'm sorry some of my words make people uncomfortable, but this is what the American left is all about."

Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.