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Mike DeBonis
Congressional Journalist Covering the House of Representatives
Democratic House Leaders Blocked Attempted Censorship of Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) for Racial Commentary , referring to the measure for review by the House Ethics Committee, fearing that it will create a dangerous precedent for the speech of members of the law enforcement.
Censorship is the most serious penalty that can be imposed on a member of the House without being deported. times in the last 100 years. Invited by King's recent comments in the New York Times, questioning the offensive nature of the terms "white nationalism" and "white supremacy," the House passed a resolution condemning this hatred on Tuesday.
But Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill).) Sought to go further by censoring King and called for a vote on Wednesday. After the Clerk of the House had read the resolution detailing King's inflammatory comments over the years, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), Had decided to refer the House to the House of Commons. deal with the Ethics Committee, a step that could strengthen the effort indefinitely. [19659006] The House agreed on a vote by vote.
"I think we talked, and we talked about both sides of the aisle, that it was an unacceptable rhetoric and behavior" Hoyer said earlier, referring to Tuesday's disapproval measure.
Democrat leaders feared a king's blame could open up Democrats to Republican retaliation.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) attends a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee at Capitol Hill, Washington, on December 20, 2018. (Joshua Roberts / Reuters)
Speaking earlier on Wednesday, the majority whip Chamber, James E. Clyburn (DS.C.).), Who introduced the disapproval resolution, noted that King had made his statements to the media, not during the proceedings of the House.
"I do not know if it's a good thing for us to talk about censorship for acts committed. outside the affairs of the House of Representatives, "said Clyburn, the highest-ranking leader of the African-American Congress. "We should be very very careful when we do something that limits or seems to restrict the speech."
By doing so, you open the window to anyone to attack the speech, whether it's Democratic or Republican ", was -he declares.
Hoyer also told reporters on Tuesday that he feared that censoring King would trigger a partisan exchange of views, but he also left open the possibility of voting for such a move. Clyburn also stated that he would likely vote for censorship based on his personal opinions while opposing a vote based on his parliamentary leader's point of view.
Rush declared Wednesday that he was "terribly disappointed" and described Clyburn's "almost foolish" disapproval resolution. "And the result of" a lot of hanky-panky politics. "
But Rush said that he did not want to" put the caucus in a position where they had to vote against the president "by forcing a vote on censorship.He said that he had actually warned King: "If, in fact, Steve King makes another type of racist comment, I reserve the right to remove him from the Ethics Committee" and force the vote.
King does not. was not present on Wednesday evening, when a Clerk of the House read a litany of his offensive comments over the years, including a remark referring to illegal immigrants with "calves the size of cantaloupes" following the drug smuggling on the Mexican border.He did not talk to reporters who interrogated him about the attempted censure.
In addition to the disapproval resolution passed on Tuesday, King also suffered the loss of his functions in the Committee, including senior positions in expert groups on agriculture and the judiciary Leaders voted on Monday not to place it as a punishment for his remarks. He is also facing the main challenge of a major senator from his district in 2020 and several Iowa newspapers have asked him to resign in editorials.
When asked whether a censorship measure could have been passed in the House, Clyburn replied, "Oh, yes, that would pass. "
King's censorship could have at least bipartisan support. A separate censorship resolution presented by Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) was co-sponsored by GOP members David P. Joyce (Ohio) and Elise Stefanik (N.Y.).
King stated that his comments to the Times – "Western civilization, white nationalist, white supremacist – how has this language become shocking?" – have been taken out of context. But he did not deny having said that.
He was provocative in an interview on Tuesday evening with a conservative radio debate host, criticizing the Republican leaders who had voted to punish him and saying he would not resign, "What are you going to do?" they do? following? When they have finished telling me to resign, they will realize that it will not happen.
Conservative commentators and a handful of GOP lawmakers spoke of democratic statements that they believe merit a stigma similar to King's. Some commented on the recorded comments of the young student Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) About President Trump, who pledged to "dismiss the mother —-" at a private event this month.
created in 1967, five legislators were censored, each after extensive investigations by this group. None of these cases included offensive rhetoric, but dealt with various forms of official misconduct, ranging from financial mischief to sexual matters with house pages.
Ryan's measure was also referred to the panel. "He hopes that the Ethics Committee will review not only Rep King's comments, but also his history of hate speech," said spokesman Michael Zetts.
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