Susan Collins says Marjorie Taylor Greene calling GOP senators 'pro-pedophile is 'obviously ludicrous' and 'typical’
Marjorie Taylor Greene meanwhile is close allies with Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is being investigated for whether he engaged in sex trafficking and had a sexual relationship with a minor, which he denies.
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- Sen. Collins said she isn't surprised by Marjorie Taylor Greene calling GOP senators 'pro-pedophile."
- "It doesn't trouble me. It's obviously ludicrous and typical," Collins said at the Capitol.
- Greene's close ally Rep. Matt Gaetz is being investigated for an alleged sexual relationship with a minor.
Sen. Susan Collins laughed when asked about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling her and other Republican senators "pro-pedophile" for supporting Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court.
"Frankly, this is what we've come to expect from her," the Maine Republican told Insider as she left the Senate chamber on Tuesday. "So it doesn't trouble me. It's obviously ludicrous and typical."
—Nicole Gaudiano (@ngaudiano) April 5, 2022
Greene's comments came after Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Murkowski of Alaska announced Monday that they would join fellow Collins in voting to approve Jackson's nomination, President Joe Biden's nominee for the vacancy on the court.
"Murkowski, Collins, and Romney are pro-pedophile," the Georgia Republican tweeted. "They just voted for #KBJ."
Greene appears to be referencing criticism from Republican senators during Jackson's confirmation hearing that she was lenient in sentencing for those guilty of possessing child abuse images, but legal experts said the attack is misleading and false.
Critics have interpreted Greene's attack on Twitter as an appeal to the far-right QAnon conspiracy theorist movement, which believes without evidence that Democratic elites run child-trafficking networks. She has been accused of having ties to the movement.
Greene's closest ally in Congress is Rep. Matt Gaetz who is being investigated by federal authorities for whether he engaged in sex trafficking and had a sexual relationship with a minor, which he denies.
Greene also has owned stock in Walt Disney Co., which she has called "pro-child predator" because the company criticized a Florida education law that critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
With Collins, Murkowski and Romney joining Democrats in support of Jackson, it means she'll likely get confirmed by the end of this week and become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Insider's Tom Porter contributed to this story.