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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Now Says She's 'Truly' Sorry for Comparing Mask Requirements to the Holocaust

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Controversial Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene staged an apology event for the press on Monday to say she was "truly sorry" for comparing mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic to what Jews experienced during the Holocaust.

At a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, Greene, 47, said she had visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., earlier in the day.

"I'm truly sorry for offending people with remarks about the Holocaust," Greene said. "There's no comparison and there never ever will be."

Greene, a fierce Donald Trump ally, has become one of Congress' most divisive figures by echoing the former president's inflammatory social media strategy.

Prior to taking office in January, some fellow GOP members in the House of Representatives told PEOPLE they were wary of working with her. One former Republican warned: "If you stick your toe into crazy, it could infect the whole body."

Republicans and Democrats alike took issue with Greene's recent comparison between the Holocaust and a House requirement that all members wear a mask inside Congress.

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JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

In May, she made the widely rebuked comments on a conservative podcast where she claimed the COVID-19 safety requirement was similar to "a time and history where people were told to wear a gold star," according to the Associated Press.

Greene added that people were "put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany" and that "this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about."

That echoed Greene's comments on social media, which also included comparing a grocery store's health and safety requirements to the Holocaust.

"Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican member of the body. "The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling."

Some critics online said they found it equally troubling that Greene needed to visit a Holocaust museum in order to come to the realization that her comments were wrong.

Olivia Troye, a former official in the Trump administration, questioned whether Greene was "sincere" in her apology on Monday.

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Meena Harris, Vice President Kamala Harris' niece, was among those calling for Greene to "resign" and said the freshman GOP lawmaker was "full of s---."

Greene's apology also came after Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider doubled down on his plan to introduce a resolution Wednesday that would officially lead to her censure in the House.

She was previously removed from her committee assignments in a highly unusual punishment that drew Democratic and Republican support.

"It is shameful that the Republican Conference continues to let her define their party, and dangerous that they refuse to expel her," Schneider said last month. "There should be no room for such unapologetic hate and antisemitism in our politics or our government."