White House decries GOP appointments of Greene, Gosar to key committees

The White House on Wednesday denounced the appointment of Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga., and Paul Gosar, Ariz., to the House Oversight Committee, suggesting that those assignments indicated the GOP was not serious about bipartisan governance and instead was hell-bent on political theatrics.

"As we have said before, the Biden Administration stands ready to work in good faith to accommodate Congress' legitimate oversight needs. However, with these members joining the Oversight Committee, it appears that House Republicans may be setting the stage for divorced-from-reality political stunts, instead of engaging in bipartisan work on behalf of the American people," said White House spokesperson Ian Sams, according to The Hill.

"House Republican leaders should explain why they are allowing these individuals to serve on this Committee and reveal transparently once and for all what secret deals they made to the extreme MAGA members in order to elect a Speaker," he continued.

The House GOP Steering Committee recommended that both Gosar and Greene sit on the committee, which Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer chairs. Both were stripped of their committee assignments in the last Congress.

In Greene's case, myriad controversial comments she made prior to taking office prompted her removal. Gosar's ouster and formal censure was more bizarre in that it followed his posting of a promotional video that depicted the opening sequence of the popular anime "Attack on Titan" with himself substituted in for anti-hero Eren Jaeger. With many prominent Democrats superimposed over Jaeger's adversaries, Gosar appeared to brutally slaughter his political foes.

The Oversight Committee will conduct one of several GOP-led investigations into the Biden administration, meaning its members will likely remain in the spotlight for the duration of that inquiry.

While Greene was a prominent supporter of now-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during the lower chamber's leadership contest, Gosar ranked among the Californian's leading detractors. His appointment to the critical committee follows concessions for more conservative representation that McCarthy made to his critics to secure their support.