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Democrats shelve censure resolution after Rep. Greene apologizes for Holocaust comparison

Greene had compared House mask rules to the Holocaust but apologized after visiting the Holocaust museum.
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WASHINGTON — After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., apologized Monday for comparing mask-wearing requirements at the Capitol to the Holocaust, a Democratic resolution to condemn the controversial congresswoman has been shelved.

“I take her apology in earnest, and we will watch to see if she makes remarks like this again,” Rep. Brad Schnieder, D-Ill., the author of the resolution told NBC News.

Schneider said he had planned to introduce the resolution this week after Greene “doubled and then tripled down” on her comments that wearing a mask was comparable to the yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear in the Holocaust.

“I was pleasantly surprised that she took the time to go to the United States Holocaust Museum,” Schneider said. “And afterwards she reflected on her visit and made a what appeared to be a sincere, a very sincere apology. So at this point, I think we accept that and, and we move forward.”

Greene apologized at a press conference Monday evening, saying she “made a mistake and it's really bothered me for a couple of weeks now, and so I definitely want to own it.”

“I visited the Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust is, there's nothing comparable to it. ... It happened, and, you know, over 6 million Jewish people were murdered,” Greene said to reporters outside the Capitol on Monday evening.

Greene noted that “all kinds of people,” including Black people and Christians, were killed during the Holocaust, which she said were “people that the Nazis didn't believe were good enough or perfect enough.” She also acknowledged that there are people who deny that the Holocaust even happened.

“There is no comparison to the Holocaust,” she said. “And there are words that I have said in remarks that I've made that I know are offensive, and for that, I want to apologize.”

Greene continued to criticize requirements to wear masks, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended during the pandemic and have eased for those who are vaccinated.

“I believe that forced mask and forced vaccines or vaccine passports are a type of discrimination, and I'm very much against that type of discrimination,” she said, adding, “I just want to say there is no comparison to the Holocaust and there never should be and that's what I'm sorry for.”

Greene’s apology came on the day NBC News reported that Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., planned to introduce a resolution this week.

Last Friday, the House attending physician, Brian Monahan, issued new guidance for the House of Representatives stating that “fully vaccinated individuals may discontinue mask wear and 6-foot social distance separations” including on the chamber's floor and in committee rooms.