美国国家公共电台 NPR House GOP Leaders Move To Strip Rep. Steve King Of Committee Assignments

House GOP Leaders Move To Strip Rep. Steve King Of Committee Assignments

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Tonight, House Republicans took a rare step to punish one of their own, Iowa Republican Congressman 2 Steve King. Here's Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

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KEVIN MCCARTHY: We will not be seating Steve King on any committees in the 116th Congress.

KELLY: This action follows comments that King made last week in The New York Times in which he was quoted questioning why the terms white supremacy 3 and white nationalist became offensive. At the same time, House Democrats 5 are moving forward with plans of their own for a resolution to rebuke 6 King on the House floor.

NPR's Susan Davis joins us now from the Capitol. Hey there, Sue.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE 7: Hey there.

KELLY: So this vote tonight by House Republicans to strip Steve King of his committee assignments - they say the messages these kind of racial comments will not be tolerated, but - worth noting King has been making these kinds of racial comments his whole career on Capitol Hill, 16 years now. So what took Republicans so long?

DAVIS: You know, I asked a lot of lawmakers this question today because as you know, Steve King has a very long history of making racially insensitive or racist 8 remarks. I talked to one top Democrat 4, Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, who said he really thought a tipping point for Republicans was when South Carolina Republican Tim Scott, an African-American and a rising star in the party, wrote an editorial in The Washington Post calling King out and saying the party has problems when they stay silent on these matters.

I also talked to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and put this very question to him tonight about what took him so long, and this is what he told me.

MCCARTHY: I have not been in Congress for those 16 years. I have just now become the leader of the Republican Party. Maybe I had not seen those, but I'd - I heard these. I disagree with these. These are reckless. These are wrong. These are nothing associated with America.

DAVIS: Clearly the leaders trying to set a new tone here in this Congress. We should note, Mary Louise, that King did put out a response to the decision to strip him of his assignments. He said the leader's decision was a political decision that ignores the truth. And King has said his comments were taken out of context. He has denied allegations that he is a racist, and he has simply described his own views as being an American nationalist.

KELLY: Now, meanwhile, I mentioned that Democrats are working on their own plans. Can you give us any more detail on what they might have up their sleeve?

DAVIS: They're updating how far they want to go on this. One thing is certain. James Clyburn - he's the House majority whip. He's expected to introduce a resolution of disapproval 9. Congress has done this before. You might remember they did this in 2009 against South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson for shouting you lie at President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address - similar kind of reprimand. It's essentially 10 just a public rebuke. The House could vote on that as soon as tomorrow. Some Democrats want to go further. People like Tim Ryan of Ohio, Bobby Rush of Illinois say they want to go so far as to censure 11 the congressman. That is about shy of expulsion. It's a pretty serious reprimand. But Clyburn has been hesitant to say they should go that far.

KELLY: One prominent new voice on Capitol Hill who's arguing that they should go even further - I'm talking about Utah Republican Senator Mitt 1 Romney. He has called on Congressman King to resign outright 12 from Congress. Are you hearing other voices calling for that?

DAVIS: You know, it is worth noting that Romney is one of many, many, many Republicans who over the years have courted Steve King and his endorsement 13 because of his place in Iowa. Mitt Romney did so in 2012. He endorsed 14 Steve King for re-election in the past. So far, not many Republicans have joined that call. McCarthy and other prominent Republicans including Tim Scott have said that decision should rest with Iowa's voters. We should note that the governor there, Kim Reynolds, has said she will not support Steve King for re-election in 2020. And he is already facing a primary challenge if he chooses to run for re-election from state Republican Senator Randy Feenstra.

KELLY: All right, thanks so much, Sue.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

KELLY: That's NPR's Susan Davis keeping us up to date from Capitol Hill tonight.