Democrats to File Bill to Censure Trump Over Response to White Supremacy Hate Groups
‘Does Hereby Censure and Condemn President Donald Trump for His Inadequate Response to the Violence in Charlottesville’
Three House Democrats will file a bill Friday that would censure President Donald Trump for his “both sides” remarks Wednesday in response to the white supremacist hate violence that took one life on Saturday.Â
The Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday announced “a resolution of censure against President Donald Trump for his August 15, 2017 remarks re-asserting earlier comments that ‘both sides’ were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia and excusing the behavior of participants in the ‘Unite the Right’ rally.”
The bill, technically a resolution, if it were to gain sufficient support from Republicans, would be only the third to successfully censure a U.S. president, Buzzfeed reports.
It would say that the House of Representatives “does hereby censure and condemn President Donald Trump for his inadequate response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, his failure to immediately and specifically name and condemn the white supremacist groups responsible for actions of domestic terrorism, for re-asserting that ‘both sides’ were to blame and excusing the violent behavior of participants in the ‘Unite the Right’ rally,” the document reads.
It would also ensure Trump “for employing people with ties to white supremacist movements in the White House, such as Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka,” and “urge President Donald Trump to fire any and all White House advisors who have urged him to cater to the alt-Right movement in the United States.”
The three Democrats are Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan would have to allow the measure to go forward.
And opinion pieces at The Washington Post and The Hill on Wednesday both call for Congress to censure Trump.
There’s a good deal of support on social media for censure too, including from Paul Ryan’s Democratic challenger:
Today, I’m calling on @SpeakerRyan to bring a censure vote to the House floor—joining w/ me and millions of Americans to express our outrage
— Randy Bryce (@IronStache) August 16, 2017
Others:
If GOP wants to prove that they don’t stand behind what Trump believes, they need to Censure him 4 defending Nazis & White Supremacists(2/5)
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) August 15, 2017
Mr. Speaker: As such, will you introduce a formal censure of the President of the United States? https://t.co/EsxiwnAeL5
— Will McAvoy (@WillMcAvoyACN) August 15, 2017
Every member of Congress, in both parties, should sign on to this resolution to censure Trump.
Call Congress now: 202-224-3121 https://t.co/YMnEzhl4cC
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) August 16, 2017
Something activists suggested earlier, now becomes a bill: A resolution to censure the president. https://t.co/0vxH2pebLt
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) August 16, 2017
Overwhelming public pressure disbanded all business councils. Now Congress must officially censure the President. Here’s the resolution: pic.twitter.com/3ZacxOv5uL
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) August 16, 2017
If Republicans mean what they say, they’ll censure Trump https://t.co/kAmqWyrH4g
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) August 16, 2017
Find your moral compass @GOP‼ï¸How can you NOT censure @realDonaldTrump after his #racist rantâ‰ï¸
CHOOSE: #racists or patriots🇺🇸 https://t.co/fzBiFtsEOw
— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) August 16, 2017
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Image by Michael Sessum via Flickr and a CC license
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