MTG votes against mourning 50,000 dead in Turkey and Syria earthquake

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On Monday, Marjorie Taylor Greene voted against mourning the 50,000 people killed by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. She and fellow Republican Thomas Massie were the two lawmakers who voted “no” on the issue. The resolution also honored the humanitarian workers who helped the earthquake victims. Something is loading.

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Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was one of two Republican members of the House of Representatives who voted against mourning the 50,000 people killed in deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Green and her fellow Republican, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, were the two men behind the House resolution on the Turkey-Syria earthquakes. The bill, HR 132, was introduced by South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson on February 17.

According to the bill’s summary, the House of Representatives’ decision “mourns the loss of life” in Turkey and Syria after the earthquakes.

The resolution also commends (1) the work of humanitarian aid and rescue workers on the ground; and (2) condemns efforts by the Assad regime in Syria to exploit the disaster to evade international pressure and accountability, including by preventing the United Nations from providing assistance through border crossings between the two countries. Turkey and Syria.

Green and Massey were the holdouts in the February 27 roll call. Even her fellow Representatives Lauren Boppert and Matt Gaetz — known for their controversial opinions — voted yes. The bill passed 414 to 2.

More than 50,000 people were killed after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on February 6. The United Nations Development Program further estimates that more than 1.5 million people lost their homes in the earthquake.

Green has not made many public statements about the quake but he did tweet about the disaster.

“We pray for Turkey and other countries suffering from deadly earthquakes. Thousands are feared dead,” the congresswoman said on Twitter on Feb. 6.

It’s unclear why Green chose to vote against the bill, but it may have something to do with Wilson’s rationale for introducing the resolution in the first place.

Speaking to Congress on Monday, Wilson said the congressional bill was a message to “war criminal Putin” that delaying humanitarian aid to the region was “despicable.” Wilson’s letter referred to a diplomatic row in February when Russia halted UN aid to Syria.

Green has taken a somewhat pro-Russian stance on the Ukraine War. On Monday, she tweeted that it was “unconstitutional” for President Joe Biden to help Ukraine because it is “neither a NATO ally nor a democracy.” In April 2022, Green was among six House Republicans who opposed a bill aimed at preserving evidence of war crimes by Russia.

Representatives for Greene and Massie did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.

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