House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says an incident near the House floor involving two high-profile members of Congress should “probably” be referred to the House Ethics Committee.

The Washington Post reports that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a freshman Republican from Georgia, “aggressively confronted” Bronx Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wednesday, accusing her of supporting terrorists.

What You Need To Know

  • The Washington Post reports Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “aggressively confronted” Bronx Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wednesday near the House floor

  • Speaker Pelosi said the House Ethics Committee "probably" should look into the incident

  • "I used to work as a bartender. These are the kinds of people that I threw out of bars all the time," Ocasio-Cortez said of Greene

“It’s so beyond the pale of anything that is in keeping with bringing honor to the House,” Pelosi said Thursday, accusing Greene of “verbal assault.”

After the incident, Ocasio-Cortez’s office urged Capitol Hill leaders to make Congress “a safe, civil place” for all members and staff.

Talking to reporters a day later, Ocasio-Cortez likened Greene to the “kinds of people that I threw out of bars all the time” when she worked as a bartender.

“I refuse to allow young women, people of color, people who are standing up for what they believe to see this kind of intimidation attempts by a person who supports white supremacists,” she said.

Greene has been embroiled in controversy since entering Congress. In February, she was stripped of committee assignments for endorsing the executions of Democrats and spreading misinformation. 

She also confronted Ocasio-Cortez on the House floor last month, demanding to debate her about the Green New Deal.

Brooklyn Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, one of the top Democrats in the House, suggested that Greene is trying to lure Ocasio-Cortez into conflict to boost her own visibility.

“Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has shown tremendous restraint and should be commended in that regard, because it appears that the so-called congresswoman from Georgia is stalking her,” Jeffries said during an appearance on CNN.

On Thursday, Greene denied she acted improperly.

“She says screaming. You know what screaming is? Screaming is what people do when rockets are fired at them like Hamas terrorists are firing into Israel. That’s what people do — they scream when that happens,” she told reporters. “I was talking to AOC.”

Asked by a reporter about Greene’s confrontation with Ocasio-Cortez, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy claimed he knew nothing about it.

The House Ethics committee did not comment.