Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) freaked out on Tuesday after she finally read the “big, beautiful bill” that she voted for a few weeks ago.
The GOP-led House passed the legislation on May 21, despite controversy that it could lead to millions of people getting kicked off of Medicaid or losing eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Although the Georgia Republican voted for the bill, that was apparently before she actually read it, she admitted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
But her newfound opposition wasn’t because her constituents might suffer from benefit cuts. Nope, her big bugaboo was artificial intelligence.
“Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years,” she said. “I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.”
Greene noted that “we have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years and giving it free rein and tying states hands is potentially dangerous,” and demanded that part of the bill “be stripped out in the Senate.”
Greene’s concerns about regulating AI make a certain amount of sense, but the fact that she couldn’t be bothered to read the bill before voting on it made her the subject of much internet mockery.
To be fair, Greene isn’t the only Republican member of Congress who voted on the bill without being aware of everything in it.
Last month, Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) admitted to constituents during a town hall meeting that he wasn’t familiar with all of the massive tax-and-spending cut legislation he voted for ― including one provision he hated.
Flood said he disagreed with a provision that could cut funding for federal courts to enforce contempt citations against federal officials — potentially preventing judges from stopping future Trump administration power grabs.
“I am not going to hide the truth,” Flood told attendees. “This provision was unknown to me when I voted for that bill, and when I found out that provision was in the bill, I immediately reached out to my Senate counterparts and told them of my concern.”