Days after GOP Reps. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared at an event hosted by a white nationalist, Republican Party leaders condemn them for their attendance.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a statement Monday criticizing hatred of white supremacy.
“There is no place in the Republican Party for white supremacists or anti-Semitism,” McConnell said in a statement first reported by Politico.
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters Monday afternoon that he found Greene and Gosar’s attendance “unacceptable.”
McCarthy suggested to reporters that he planned to speak with both Gosar and Greene later this week.
“To me, it was appalling and wrong,” McCarthy told reporters. “There is no place in our party for all this.”
“The party should not be associated at any time or place with anyone who is anti-Semitic… This is unacceptable,” he added.
McCarthy was in Israel last week with a congressional delegation. He told Punchbowl News that the news of Greene and Gosar’s attendance was particularly upsetting due to his recent visit.
Both Greene and Gosar were removed from committee duties for their egregious behavior.
McCarthy, however, has previously said he would reinstate their postings if Republicans retake the House in November.
McCarthy told CNN and another reporter outside his office that while Greene claimed he didn’t know who the event organizer was “with that introduction, you should have left the stage.”
Shortly before introducing Greene, Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist who organized the event, led attendees in applauding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and chanting the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Republican Speaker Ronna McDaniel, when asked about Greene’s behavior on Monday, also condemned the event but refrained from condemning its members.
“White supremacy. Neo-Nazism, hate speech and bigotry are disgusting. They have no place or home or our party.”
McDaniel did not say whether the party would take other action against its members, such as censoring them. Instead, she said she would “let the process unfold” and see if any members issued any censures at a party meeting in August.
The criticism follows recent comments by former President Donald Trump, who continues to praise Putin. During an interview with conservative radio show “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show” on Tuesday, Trump called Putin’s tactics “genius” and “savant.” Trump finally slammed the invasion on Saturday night at the Conservative Political Action Conference, but called Putin “smart.”
Greene and Gosar’s appearance at the conference on Friday night now renews calls for them to be reprimanded by fellow Republicans in Congress.
“In any other world, Greene speaking at a white supremacy conference where attendees defended Vladimir Putin and praised Adolf Hitler would justify his expulsion from caucus, not to mention his plea for violence and constant anti-Semitism is disgusting,” the Democratic National Committee said. said spokesman Ammar Moussa.
Greene, however, doubled down on her appearance.
“I will not nullify others in the Conservative movement, even though I find some of their statements wishy-washy, misguided or even repugnant at times. I encourage them to seek wisdom and apologize to those who have been hurt by their words, as I have had to do,” she said. “Our faith calls for charity and forgiveness.”
“We are not going to be deterred by reporters and insiders in Washington who fear the name of Our Lord and relentlessly attack those of us who proclaim his name. We know that Christ is our only judge,” a- she added.
Over the weekend, in addition to claiming she didn’t know who Fuentes was, Greene said she went to the event to reach out to her young audience and discuss “American First” policies.
Last month, Fuentes was subpoenaed by the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
ABC News’ Mariam Khan contributed to this report.