Cass County GOP censures Congressman Fred Upton for vote against Marjorie Taylor Greene

Published 3:52 pm Wednesday, February 24, 2021

CASS COUNTY — Rep. Fred Upton has once again found himself at odds with the Cass County GOP.

Fred Upton

Upton, who was censured by the Cass County GOP’s executive committee last month for his decision to support the impeachment of former President Donald Trump, was censured again Tuesday by the organization for his vote to remove Georgia rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Education and Labor Committee.

A censure is a formal statement of disapproval that can have a strong impact on a member and his/her relationships in the House.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to expel Greene from the education and budget committees earlier this month over inflammatory remarks she made before being elected last November, which included suggesting the 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School and the 2018 Parkland shootings were staged and that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were staged.

Eleven Republicans, including Upton, joined the Democrats to pass the motion 230-199. According to the Cass County GOP’s statement, Upton’s vote was “a betrayal of his oath of office and core values of the Cass County Republican Party.”

Upton reacted to the censure Tuesday evening on his Twitter account. Upton said the reason for his censure was because “her comments have not been out of line with anyone else’s comments.”

“She taunted a Parkland school shooting survivor, argued that California wildfires were started by a Jewish space laser, accused Democratic politicians of running a pedophile ring out of a pizza parlor, and questioned whether 9/11 really happened,” Upton tweeted. “Does the Cass GOP really think someone like that represents Republican values and should be serving on the education committee? I served on that committee and met with Columbine school shooting survivors. I have since met with Parkland and Sandy Hook School shooting survivors and heard all of their personal stories. She should not be on the education committee, and Congress was right to remove her, period.”