Not One Republican Votes to Allow Debate on Resolution Condemning Trump's Racist Attacks

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks as House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) listen during a news conference June 25, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Not One Republican Votes to Allow Debate on Resolution Condemning Trump's Racist Attacks

"House Democrats must stand together and listen to these new leaders in the party who are fighting for their communities by standing up to Trump's hate."

Not a single House Republican on Tuesday voted to proceed to debate on a Democratic resolution condemning President Donald Trump's racist attacks on progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib.

The resolution (pdf)--which is on track to pass by Tuesday evening--"strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color."

The procedural motion to begin debate passed by a vote of 233-190.

While a handful of Republican members of Congress have condemned Trump's Twitter attacks, which said the freshman Democrats should "go back" to the countries "from which they came," the vast majority have either stayed silent or defended the president.

During a press conference ahead of Tuesday's vote, Republican congressional leaders defended Trump's remarks and said his attacks on the four congresswomen were not racist.

"I believe this is about ideology," said House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). "This is about socialism versus freedom."

Heidi Hess, co-director of CREDO Action, said in a statement Tuesday that there is no doubt that Trump's comments were racist.

"Donald Trump is a racist--and he's been a racist since long before entering the Oval Office," said Hess. "Every single policy forced through by his administration has harmed black, brown, and immigrant communities. House Democrats must stand together with congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley, and listen to these new leaders in the party who are fighting for their communities by standing up to Trump's hate."

Watch the debate on the resolution:

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.