Should Rep. Steve King resign?
The 360 is a feature designed to show you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories.
What’s happening
House Republicans removed their Iowa colleague Rep. Steve King from his positions on the Judiciary and Agriculture committees Monday in the wake of the congressman’s recent comments about white supremacy in an interview with the New York Times. A staunch opponent of expanding rights to immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens, King was quoted saying, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”
The news got worse for King, when the Sioux City Journal, a paper in his district which had previously endorsed him, called on him to resign. “If he cares deeply about citizens of the 4th, and we believe he does, King should do what is in their best interests and step down from office,” wrote the paper’s editorial board. Along with the Journal, the Des Moines Register, Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, and former Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich also called on King to step down.
King’s history of firing off what many consider racist remarks is hardly limited to this latest instance. During his own reelection campaign in October, King endorsed a white supremacist candidate for Toronto’s mayoral race. Days later, he met with Austria’s Freedom Party, a Nazi-linked group and said, “What does diversity bring us that we don’t already have?” Through years of similar comments and actions, he did not lose the support of his party. Many are now asking: Why now and why did it take so long?
Up for debate is what should happen next for King, and what responsibility the Republican Party has for the time it supported him.
Perspectives
King should resign. “His language questioning whether or not the notion of white supremacy is offensive is absolutely abhorrent, it’s racist, we do not support it or agree with it. As I said, ‘I think he should find another line of work,’” Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the third-ranking member of the GOP in the House, told reporters Tuesday.
Two Iowa newspapers agreed. The editorial board for the
Des Moines Register wrote that King’s views ultimately hurt Iowans. “He has lost even the potential to effectively represent his Iowa constituents because of his abhorrent comments about white nationalism and white supremacy. … He may as well mail a cardboard cutout of himself to Washington for all he’ll be able to accomplish if no one is willing to work with him.”
The
Sioux City Journal, which once endorsed King, made an about-face, writing, “It’s time for Steve King to go. He should resign his seat in the U.S. House. A new election should be held for voters in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District to choose a replacement.”
No shortage of GOP hypocrisy. “King has been making these kinds of comments for years: His belief in white supremacy has long been the most newsworthy thing about him — for crying out loud, he kept a Confederate flag on his desk, even though he represents a state that fought with the Union in the Civil War. It’s only now, after he’s been in Congress for 16 years, that King’s colleagues have decided to act,” Joel Mathis wrote in a Tuesday op-ed in
This is really about Trump, and he’s the one Republicans should censure. “So they’re taking on King instead of taking on Trump. It’s safer. That’s what this is really about: the sacrifice of one wretched bigot to atone for the indulgence of another; an opportunity for moral preening after so much moral surrender. This has less to do with courage than with convenience. Be glad for King’s exile. But don’t be impressed by the Republicans who are ordering it.” – Frank Bruni, in the
Why now the outrage? “The decision was made after Democrats threatened to bring a motion of censure, and more egregiously, after years of King’s blatantly racist comments,” the
Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin wrote in a Tuesday op-ed, adding, “If King’s defense of ‘white nationalism’ is not acceptable, why do Republicans tolerate and extol a president who declared there to be some “fine people” among neo-Nazis, called African and Caribbean nations ‘s***hole countries,’ equated Mexican immigrants with rapists, repeatedly questioned African American critics’ IQ, asserted a federal court judge of Mexican descent to be unable to perform his job, created a conspiracy to delegitimize the first African American president, started a running battle with African American athletes who kneel to protest police brutality and fails to employ any high-level African American staffer?”
King must finally face real consequences. “Such acknowledgments are important and necessary. But words are not enough. We have had tweets, apologies and talk. Enough words. Now we need action. It is time to do what is right and remove King from his position on the House Judiciary Committee. We cannot afford to be silent. If this were a one-time gaffe or misunderstanding, such dramatic action would not be necessary. Unfortunately, this is not the first time King has overstepped and offended.” – Jason Chaffetz,
What happens next
House Democratic leaders on Wednesday did not take action on a resolution to censure King for his comments on white supremacy, and instead referred the measure to the House Ethics Committee for review. House members said they worried that censure might set a precedent for punishing offensive speech.
The disapproval measure stands, and King will still be removed from his committee positions. Censure would have been a stronger rebuke from Congress and is the most severe sanction before expulsion.
Rep. Tim Ryan, who along with Rep. Bobby Rush, introduced the censure resolutions, said Wednesday, “There were a lot of us who really wanted [a censure] to happen.”
“We’re sick of that rhetoric, we’re sick of it coming from the White House, we’re sick of it coming from Congressman King. … It’s time to put our foot down,” he said, according to CNN.
If King chooses not to resign, multiple Republican opponents have already announced they plan to challenge him in next year’s primary.
