Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to see Kyle Rittenhouse join George Washington, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Dalai Lama in receiving the legislative branch's highest honor. The Republican congresswoman introduced a bill Tuesday to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two people and injured a third during a protest in Kenosha, Wis., last year, per the Washington Post. The Congressional Gold Medal represents Congress' "highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions," according to the Senate website.
Greene—who voted against awarding the medal to US Capitol Police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 riot earlier this year, per HuffPost—says Rittenhouse, found not guilty of homicide and other charges last week, "deserves to be remembered as a hero who defended his community, protected businesses, and acted lawfully in the face of lawlessness," per the Hill. Her effort is unlikely to succeed, however. The bill needs to be co-sponsored by two-thirds of the Democratic-controlled House and Senate to go before committees and has zero co-sponsors at present, per the Post. President Biden, who has condemned Rittenhouse’s actions, would also need to approve the measure, if passed.
What Rittenhouse is getting from Congress is plenty of job offers. Reps. Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Madison Cawthorn, and Lauren Boebert have all said they would hire the 18-year-old as an intern, per Salon. Cawthorn, Gosar, and Boebert are even talking of arm wrestling for him. Asked Wednesday about Greene's bill, Gaetz spokesperson Joel Valdez notes "we are concerned that awarding Kyle with a Congressional Gold Medal will give him a big head during the internship with our office." None of this is landing well with Rittenhouse's trial attorney, Mark Richards. "They want to trade on his celebrity, and I think it's disgusting," he tells Insider. (More Kyle Rittenhouse stories.)
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