Jasmine Crockett blasted Marjorie Taylor Greene for “bulls---” during a fiery Congressional session Wednesday, in a new escalation of the congresswomen’s public feud.
The Texas Democrat went after the Georgia Republican for holding the special hearing to question NPR and PBS executives on MAGA claims that the broadcasters are biased, saying it was an affront to the First Amendment.
The two women have been at loggerheads for months, but Greene escalated the tensions Tuesday by demanding to know why Crockett was being given an “escort” by Capitol police in the wake of MAGA influencer Laura Loomer alleging that the Democrat “assaulted” one of her colleagues.
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On Wednesday morning, Crockett hit back as she questioned NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher. “Free speech is not about whatever it is that y’all want somebody to say,” the Texas Democrat told Greene, the chair of the hearing.
“The idea that you want to shut down everybody that is not Fox News is bull---t. We need to stop playing because that’s what y’all are doing in here. You don’t want to hear the opinions of anybody else.”
Crockett and Greene have sparred repeatedly. During an Oversight Committee hearing last year, Greene claimed Crockett had trouble reading because of her “fake eyelashes,” prompting Crockett to say the Georgia congressman had a “bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body.” Since then, Crockett has described Greene as “not the brightest,” while Greene accused Crockett of “terrorism” for urging people to protest Elon Musk’s Tesla vehicles.
Greene, the chair of the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), used the hearing to attack NPR and PBS, which Republicans have long wanted to defund. The move was backed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
As she opened the hearing, Greene was flanked by a photo of drag queen “Lil Miss Hot Mess,” attacking the performer as a “child predator” and “monster” who had no place airing on PBS—a reference to an appearance the act made on a show made by PBS’ New York City affiliate, WNET.
“As a mother, if I had walked in my living room or one of my children’s bedrooms and seen this child predator and this monster targeting my children, I would become unglued,” she said.
The Daily Beast has asked Lil Miss Hot Mess, real name Harris Kornstein, for comment. Public records do not suggest Kornstein has been convicted of, or arrested for, any offenses against children. Greene was able to call Kornstein a “child predator” because of Congress’ speech and debate clause, which provides legal protections for anything members say during House proceedings.
PBS CEO Paula Kerger disputed Greene’s characterization of the segment during questioning by Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), saying the clip was mistakenly put on its website but never aired on PBS.
“The drag queen was actually not on any of our kids’ shows,” she said.
Still, Greene leaned into the segment during her closing remarks, playing a clip of it that claimed it aired on PBS. “That’s repulsive, that’s not what children ages 3 to 8 should ever be watching,” she said.
The Daily Beast has reached out for comment.
Republicans spent the majority of the over two-hour hearing focusing on NPR and railing against accusations of political bias, drawing upon former NPR editor Uri Berliner’s claim in an essay for The Free Press last year that the news organization lacked any “viewpoint diversity.”
Democrats blasted Republicans for holding the hearing at all, claiming it was a distraction from The Atlantic‘s report over Trump’s national security leaders discussing attack plans over a Signal group chat. Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) named multiple Sesame Street characters including Elmo, the Cookie Monster, and Bert and Ernie as they castigated Greene and Republicans for their attacks on public media.
“They would rather post up against Big Bird than deal with that issue,” Lynch said. “If shame was still a thing, this hearing would be shameful.”
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