Democrat To Introduce Measure To Censure GOP Rep. Steve King
A Democratic lawmaker in the House of Representatives is planning to push forward a formal motion to censure Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) over comments he’s recently made regarding white nationalism.
King made headlines last week when a New York Times article published excerpts of an interview he agreed to be a part of. Within that interview, King openly lamented why terms like white nationalist offended some in America.
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King asked during the interview, per previous reporting from the Inquisitr. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
Those terms have a historical relevance that ties them to beliefs of white superiority over non-white individuals.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “White nationalist groups espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites.”
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the comments are offensive, and warrant King being censured by the legislative body to which they both belong to. Rush plans to issue a measure censuring King soon, and will include other instances in which the Iowa representative has made other offensive comments, including one occasion in which he compared immigrants to livestock, ABC News reported on Monday.
Rep. Bobby Rush, a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, announced he plans to introduce a resolution to censure Rep. Steve King over his history of "rabid, racist remarks"https://t.co/y0MdyHxI68
— Axios (@axios) January 14, 2019
Rush’s comments against King’s statements in his New York Times interview left little doubt about how he felt about the entire ordeal.
“As with any animal that is rabid, Steve King should be set aside and isolated,” Rush said. In addition to censure, Rush is also requesting King lose all of his committee assignments until he apologizes for his remarks.
King has apologized already, but many didn’t see it as a legitimate statement of remorse. “I regret the heartburn that has poured forth upon this Congress and this country and especially in my state and in my congressional district,” King said on the floor of the House, per reporting from Splinter.
King’s comments are getting condemnation from both parties. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California), for example, said that “action will be taken” against King due to his statements.
In the opposite chamber in Congress, Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), the only black Republican in the Senate, scolded King in an op-ed in the Washington Post last week.
“When people with opinions similar to King’s open their mouths, they damage not only the Republican Party and the conservative brand but also our nation as a whole,” Scott wrote in his opinion piece.
