House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday joined the growing chorus of Democrats calling for the removal of Confederate statues from the Capitol.

“There is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honor across the country,” Pelosi said in a statement.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ryan's office quickly responded, noting that it's the states, not Congress, that decide which statues should be placed in the Capitol.



“These are decisions for those states to make," said Doug Andres, spokesman for Speaker Ryan.

Pelosi released the statement hours after President Trump lamented the removal of "beautiful" Confederate monuments around the country. Trump argued the nation was seeing its history and culture "being ripped apart."

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) had previously called for the removal from the Capitol of Confederate monuments following the weekend’s deadly marches in Charlottesville, Va., where a counterprotester was killed and many others injured, as white nationalists clashed with protesters denouncing racism.