Pelosi was trying to hold a House vote a little while ago to condemn Trump’s tweets, but all of that is on hold now because Rep. Doug Collins called her out on some offensive rhetoric of her own about Trump and now everything is on hold.

Chad Pergram explains it this way. I’ve taken this from his tweets:

Pelosi on the floor now speaking about resolution condemning President Trump. Pelosi says Trump’s language is “not only divisive but dangerous.” GOP GA Rep Collins asserts that Pelosi’s words broke decorum & demanded they be “taken down.” Hse will have to decide if her words are in order. If ruled out of order, Pelosi could be banned from speaking on the flr the rest of the day. Collins asked Pelosi to withdraw her words.

Here’s what Pelosi said in full and Collins’ objection:

.@SpeakerPelosi: “Every single member of this institution…should join us in condemning the president’s racist tweets. To do anything less would be a shocking rejection of our values and a shameful abdication of our oath of office to protect the American people.” pic.twitter.com/nsskh7TuCS — CSPAN (@cspan) July 16, 2019

Pelosi on the flr: There is no place anywhere for the president’s words which are not only divisive but dangerous and have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color. GOP GA Rep Collins: I ask the Spkr of the Hse if she would like to rephrase that comment. Pelosi: I have cleared my remarks w/the parliamentarian before I read them Collins: I that her words to be taken down (taking down words is where a mbr is alleged to have broken Hse decorum)

Pegram continues:

Extraordinary that a member of the minority would flag the Speaker for their remarks on the floor. Pelosi said that her words were cleared by the parliamentarian. “Taking down words” is the parliamentary equivalent of being pulled over for speeding. You MAY have done something wrong. But they have to determine that first. Hse could vote either way. Or Spkr could withdraw the offending words. The Hse vote on condemnation for Trump will be pushed back now because of the Pelosi contretemps and the parliamentary infighting.

The condemnation will be later tonight. This is eating up a lot of time. When a mbrs words are “taken down” on the flr, they must sit until the Hse makes a ruling and decides whether the words are in order or out of order. It NEVER takes this long to review the conduct or language of a member. This is supercharged because it deals with the resolution condemning President Trump and the fact that this involves the Speaker of the House.

Pelosi was supposed to stay on the floor while the House judged her words, but she LEFT the floor which is a violation of the rules:

On the kerfuffle on the flr involving Pelosi…When words are taken down, the member accused of using inappropriate language must be seated in the House chamber and wait for the ruling. Pelosi appears to have left the floor..which is a violation of House Rules themselves when someone’s words are taken down. That’s partly could be why this is taking so long. This is not just a rank and file member. This is the House Speaker.







The Democrat presiding over the floor then leaves and refuses to preside any longer:

Things have gotten really weird on the Hse flr. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) was presiding over the House. And then he told the House he was trying to make a fair ruling about Pelosi but people weren’t cooperating. So Cleaver then just said “I abandon the chair” and LEFT! Dem NC Rep GK Butterfield now presiding after Cleaver left the chair amid the dispute over Pelosi’s language. Cleaver as he left the flr, refusing to preside any more: I came in here trying to do this in a fair way. We could be in here on another motion to take down words of a friend of min. I never want to pass on an opportunity to escalate, unfairness is not enough.

And in a surprise ruling, Pelosi’s words are ruled inappropriate and now they are voting to strike them from the record!

House rules against Pelosi. House now voting to strike her words from the record. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 16, 2019

Talk about irony. She’s trying to get Trump’s words condemned and her own words and condemned in the process!

UPDATE: It gets even better. Pelosi is in timeout for the rest of the day!

BREAKING NEWS —> Speaker Pelosi just broke the rules of the House, and is no longer permitted to speak on the floor of the House for the rest of the day. — Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 16, 2019

UPDATE: The House held the vote and Democrats have voted successfully NOT to strike Pelosi’s words from the record, even though the House ruled against her. Big shocker.

The House votes against the GOP motion striking the Speaker’s words from the Record pic.twitter.com/spX89ZDmk1 — Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) July 16, 2019

NOTE: I was obviously mistaken earlier when I said her words were stricken from the record. In my enthusiasm I failed to note that they were still voting.