'This is a hearing full of performance artists, not legislators'

Watch Melanie Stansbury's hilarious takedown of Marjorie Taylor Greene

Melanie Stansbury, a Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico, is building quite an impressive collection of greatest hits with her masterful critiques of her MAGA colleagues.

In recent weeks, quite a few videos have circulated on social media showing Stansbury challenge her dimwitted and dishonest Republican counterparts with a mixture of outrage and anger. When the microphone turns to her, Trump’s water-carriers often end up with their buckets over their heads.

In the two videos below, you’ll see Stansbury take on the irrepressibly ignorant Marjorie Taylor Greene, chairwoman of a House subcommittee that’s supposed to provide oversight of the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Big Balls.

In the first video, beginning around the 1:50 mark, Stansbury engages in a hilarious exchange with Greene after the congresswoman from Georgia displays a photo that purportedly shows a witness giving the middle finger to the subcommittee on a social media post.

Stansbury shows viewers the real image – with the witness displaying his middle finger and index finger on his upraised hand.

Trapped, Greene furiously pounds her gavel, shouting that Stansbury is out of order, and proceeds with her attack on the witness. Stansbury then slides over and holds up the real photo next to Greene’s yammering head.

In the second video, Stansbury thanks the witnesses for appearing and adds, “As you can see, this is a hearing full of performance artists, not legislators.”

She points out that the subcommittee, allegedly established to further government efficiency, has just spent over three hours discussing transgender athletes and, in particular, fencing – neither of which are in the purview of the assembled lawmakers.

The performance art, she says, is intended to bully transgender Americans – who Republicans obsess about and allow to live “rent free” in their heads – while distracting the public from the damage DOGE is doing to health care, women’s rights, civil liberties, programs for the poor, education and much, much more.

Stansbury’s bemused but firm style is refreshing, a “can you believe this shit?” approach that I suspect is much more effective with Americans than the opposition from many of her Democratic colleagues, who sometimes let their own egos and ambitions override their message.

Stansbury is worth watching in the two clips below – and in the months ahead.