In previous years, racially charged statements by Rep. Steve King were met with public denunciations and hand-wringing, but no formal action. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images congress Steve King stripped of committee seats — with more punishment coming But the Iowa Republican said he won't resign after losing his committee posts over controversial comments he made on white supremacy.

House GOP leaders moved to strip embattled Rep. Steve King from his committee assignments on Monday, part of wave of congressional action over recent racist comments by the Iowa Republican.

King will lose his seat on three panels, including the Judiciary Committee for which he served as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.


House Democrats will also hold at least one floor vote this week denouncing King after he defended the terms “white supremacist” and “white nationalist" during a New York Times interview.

There was even a competition among Democrats to see who could introduce the first censure resolution against King, while Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) — the highest-ranking African-American lawmaker in Congress — plans to offer his own "resolution of disapproval." That resolution, however, would be less severe than censure.

A defiant King said he won't resign despite losing his committee posts. He also criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who forced the issue of removing King from his committee posts.

“Leader McCarthy’s decision to remove me from committees is a political decision that ignores the truth," King declared.

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King offered a further defense of his comments during the Times interview, saying in a statement, "we discussed the worn out label 'racist' and my observation that other slanderous labels have been increasingly assigned to Conservatives by the Left, who injected into our current political dialog such terms as Nazi, Fascist, ‘White Nationalist, White Supremacist,— Western Civilization, how did THAT language become offensive?"

King added: "Ultimately, I told [McCarthy] ‘You have to do what you have to do and I will do what I have to do.’ I will continue to point out the truth and work with all the vigor that I have to represent 4th District Iowans for at least the next two years.”

Yet the growing bipartisan chorus of lawmakers calling for punishment of King is a sign of how far the political dynamic has shifted on Capitol Hill since November's victory by House Democrats.

In previous years, racially charged statements by King were met with public denunciations and hand-wringing, but no formal action. Now, with Democrats in charge of the House, there is action from both parties, although minority lawmakers complain it is years too late.

Some Democrats are using the King scandal to criticize Donald Trump too, bashing the president for remarks on Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants generally and the border wall.

Senior Republicans, including McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) — as well as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — have decried the comments. One senator, Mitt Romney of Utah, said King should resign the House seat he's held since 2002.

“Steve’s remarks are beneath the dignity of the party of Lincoln and the United States of America," McCarthy said in a statement. "His comments call into question whether he will treat all Americans equally, without regard for race and ethnicity. House Republicans are clear: We are all in this together, as fellow citizens equal before God and the law. As Congressman King’s fellow citizens, let us hope and pray earnestly that this action will lead to greater reflection and ultimately change on his part.”

Asked if he believed King should resign, McCarthy — who met privately with King earlier in the day — said it was up to the voters in that district. King narrowly won reelection in November after the National Republican Congressional Committee refused to back him.

“The voters of his district make those decisions. I think the action of this conference — the swift action — says we do not believe in these words. Those are not words that associate with anything in this party, or in this conference,” McCarthy told reporters after GOP leaders met to strip King of his committee assignments.

King had be in line to become ranking member of Judiciary subcommittee, though Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top GOP lawmaker on the full committee panel, has also blasted King’s comments.

“There’s no room in American values for the language that Steve King used,” Collins said in a statement last week. “Racism and white supremacy are wicked. They’re incompatible with what we know to be true, that every person is made with untold dignity and value.”

Among Democrats, there were three efforts to formally denounce King, at least one of which is expected to be voted on during Tuesday's session.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) announced Monday he would be filing a censure motion to hold the Iowa Republican accountable for “his pattern of racist and xenophobic statements” going back to 2006. Shortly afterward, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) unveiled his own censure resolution, which specifically targets comments King made to the Times last week. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) has said he will sign on as a co-sponsor.

“He has become too comfortable with proudly insulting, disrespecting, and denigrating people of color,” Rush, a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in a statement. “As with any animal that is rabid, Steve King should be set aside and isolated.”

"It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or Republican, we all have a responsibility to call out Rep. King’s hateful and racist comments," Ryan added. It’s far past time that Congress holds him accountable.”

Ryan's censure motion is also backed by GOP Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio.

It is not clear which censure resolution the House will vote on, or whether they will ultimately be withdrawn. They are "privileged resolutions," meaning they deal with the "integrity of the House," and therefore Rush and Ryan can force floor votes if they so choose.

Former Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York was the last member censured by the House in 2010. Rangel was found to have violated a number of House ethics rules.

For his part, Clyburn offered a resolution of disapproval against King that he hopes to see taken up by the House on Tuesday.

Less onerous than censure, Clyburn's motion is similar to the punishment used against Rep. Joe WIlson (R-S.C.) when he yelled at President Barack Obama during the 2009 State of the Union address.

Clyburn’s resolution will mention King, but it also condemns white supremacy more broadly. And it comes the same week as Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 90th birthday.

"It's a resolution of disapproval of Mr. King's comments, and a condemnation of white supremacy and white nationalism," said Clyburn, a former civil rights activist.

Clyburn said he would support a censure motion if it came to the floor, but it was not his preferred option in this case.

"I would not advocate censure, but if a censure vote came to the floor, I would support it," Clyburn said. The South Carolina Democrat predicted a censure vote would pass if it comes to the floor.

In the Times interview last week, King questioned aloud when terms like “white nationalist, white supremacist and Western civilization” became “offensive.” King later issued a statement saying he “rejects” the labels “white nationalism and white supremacy.” Yet his remarks are just the latest in a yearslong pattern of using offensive and crude language to describe people of color.

Republicans from both chambers have been sharply critical of King's comments, calling them unworthy of the party. But to minority lawmakers, the GOP's racial problems are embodied in Trump, and King fits into that same mold.

“Over the years, Steve King has made increasingly more xenophobic and racist statements," said Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "King’s rhetoric, plus the president’s bigoted statements about immigrants, Native Americans, and people of color, engender a climate of racial and ethnic intolerance among some Americans. These words have a real impact, and endanger some Americans’ daily lives."



James Arkin and Laura Barrón-López contributed to this report.

