Washington, Feb 3 (AP) A top Democrat said the House will vote Thursday on removing Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committees, intensifying the stakes over the Georgia Republican's online embrace of conspiracy theories and violent racist views.

The announcement by No 2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland came Wednesday as showdowns approached over Greene and Rep Liz Cheney, who've antagonized opposing wings of a Republican Party struggling to define itself without Donald Trump in the White House.

House Republicans, under bipartisan pressure to punish Greene, have been hoping to take action on their own — such as removing her from one committee — and avoid a difficult political vote for many in the GOP.

But Hoyer released a statement saying that after speaking to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., “it is clear there is no alternative to holding a floor vote on the resolution to remove Rep. Greene from her committee assignments. "

A McCarthy aide said he would discuss the situation with his GOP colleagues.

McCarthy met for 90 minutes late Tuesday with Greene, R-Ga., and aides said little about the outcome. The hard-right freshman has burst onto the national political scene after using social media to endorse outlandish conspiracy theories and violent, racist views.

Republicans had appointed Greene to the education committee, a decision that drew especially harsh criticism because of her suggestions that school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, could be hoaxes.

The Democratic-run House Rules Committee was meeting Wednesday in an initial step toward removing Greene from her committees, a rare step for Congress.

A full House vote would be a political ordeal for many Republicans, forcing them to go on record defending or punishing a social media-savvy lawmaker who has won enthusiastic support from Trump.

Greene was showing little sign of backing down. “No matter what @GOPLeader does it would never be enough for the hate America Democrats,” she tweeted early Wednesday.

Meanwhile, House Republicans planned a closed-door meeting later Wednesday in which Cheney's political fate could be decided. The GOP's farthest right wing was itching to oust Cheney, of Wyoming, from her post as the No. 3 House Republican after she voted last month to impeach Trump.

Cheney is a leader of her party's traditional conservatives and is a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The strife underscores Republican fissures as the party seeks a path forward two weeks after Trump left office as the only twice-impeached president. House Republicans are effectively deciding whether to prioritize the former president's norm-shattering behavior and conspiracy theories and retain the loyalty of his voters over more establishment conservative values. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)