McCarthy declines to punish Republicans Greene and Gosar for appearing at white nationalist conference

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Wednesday that there is “no place” in the GOP for the ideas espoused at a far-right political conference that Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., recently attended, but stopped short of doling out any tangible punishment to the two lawmakers.

“There is no place for that. There is no place for what has gone on with that organization,” McCarthy told reporters at his weekly press conference on Capitol Hill, adding that it “will never be tolerated” by the GOP.

Greene appeared in person at last month’s America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, which was organized by white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Gosar sent in a prerecorded video, after speaking in person at the event last year.

While introducing Greene, Fuentes wondered aloud why being compared to Adolf Hitler would be considered bad.

"Now they’re going on about Russia and Vladimir Putin is Hitler — they say that’s not a good thing,” Fuentes told the crowd, which later broke into a pro-"Putin" chant.

McCarthy said he had spoken to Greene, adding that “she will not go again” to the same conference, but refused to detail any other consequences for the two Republicans.

In 2021, Greene and Gosar were each stripped of their committee assignments by House Democrats after McCarthy declined to punish them for their apparent endorsement in social media posts of violence against Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

In 2019, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, was stripped of his committee assignments by House Republicans after he questioned why white supremacy was considered offensive.

McCarthy said Wednesday that both Greene and Gosar would be able to rejoin committees next year if Republicans retake control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections.