Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was temporarily banned from speaking on the floor of the House on Tuesday after the House parliamentarian ruled that she violated House rules.
While offering comments about a resolution set to condemn Trump’s comments earlier this week regarding four far-left congresswomen (aka “the Squad”), Pelosi said that everyone “should join us in condemning the president’s racist tweets.”
According to House rules, one cannot refer to the president as “having made a bigoted or racist statement.”
1/ Explaining this House rules brouhaha —
Speaker Pelosi said on the floor that everyone “should join us in condemning the president’s racist tweets” …
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 16, 2019
2/ Jefferson’s Manual & Rules of the House of Representatives specifically says one cannot refer to the president as “having made a bigoted or racist statement.”https://t.co/0HmJkdRwUe
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 16, 2019
The House parliamentarian rebuked the Speaker for violating rules forbidding personal attacks on the House floor against the president.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced the parliamentarian’s decision against Pelosi, stating that by calling the remarks by Trump racist, she had indeed violated the House’s rules.
“The chair is prepared to rule, the words of the gentlewoman from California contain an accusation of racist behavior on the part of the president as memorialized in chapter 29 section 65.6, characterization characterizing an action as racist is not in order,” Hoyer said on the floor ahead of the vote. “The chair relies on the precedent of May 15, 1984, and finds that the words should not be used in debate.”
The House voted along party lines against striking Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s improper floor remarks from the record.
3/ Majority Leader Hoyer read the ruling that Pelosi’s comments were indeed out of order.
Democratic-controlled House then voted against striking Pelosi’s comments from the record.
The vote was 190 – 232, party line vote with independent Amash joining Dems
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 16, 2019
The unrepentant Pelosi said she did not regret her remarks.
“I stand by my statement, I’m proud of the attention that’s being called to it because what the president said was completely inappropriate against our colleagues, but not just against them, against so many people in our country when he said ‘go back where you came from,’” Pelosi told reporters ahead of the vote.
The resolution set off a contentious floor fight that led the presiding Democrat to abandon his chair, The Hill reported.
Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, led the effort to have Pelosi’s remarks be removed.
Earlier, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) in the same debate asked that remarks made by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) be stricken from the record for calling Democratic lawmakers anti-American.
But she appeared to withdraw her request during an ensuing discussion with the presiding House member, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).
The battle over floor speeches came as the House debated the resolution condemning the president’s comments.
In her floor remarks, Pelosi criticized Trump’s “xenophobic attacks on our members, on our people.”
“How shameful to hear him continue to defend those offensive words, words that we have all heard him repeat, not only about our members, but about countless others,” she said.
After Collins asked Pelosi if she would like to rephrase her comments, Pelosi said she had cleared them with the parliamentarian in advance.
“I would like to make a point of order that the gentlewoman’s words are unparliamentary and ask they be taken down,” Collins said.
Republican Rep. Collins has objected to Speaker Pelosi’s comments on the House floor that the president’s comments are racist, and asks in a point of order that they be taken down; the parliamentarian is expected to rule on the objection. pic.twitter.com/3iRKFuY5GE
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 16, 2019
Collins pointed out the gross double standard of Democrats who refuse to condemn the much more egregious behavior of their colleagues.
We expect each other to speak fairly, truthfully and respectfully of our fellow members of Congress and of the president—not because we agree with each other at all times, but because of our great respect for the Americans who elected us to represent them. pic.twitter.com/jBngC0b9fl
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) July 16, 2019
Cleaver (D-Mo.), who was presiding over the floor, then reminded members “to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president.”
As deliberations took place, Pelosi exited the chamber despite members who have been flagged for potential violations being expected to remain on the floor.
Cleaver, in a dramatic moment, later abruptly left his position presiding over the House in frustration. He said the two parties had been treated fairly in the floor debate.
“We don’t ever, ever want to pass up it seems an opportunity to escalate and that’s what this is,” he said. “I dare anybody to look at any of the footage and see if there is unfairness, but unfairness is not enough because we want to just fight.
“I abandon the chair,” he then stated before slamming his gavel down and leaving his position.
He was replaced by Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.).
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) just abandoned the House chair:
“I dare anybody to look at any of the footage and see if there was any unfairness. But unfairness is not enough because we want to just fight. I abandon the chair.” pic.twitter.com/D985ZGwKuS
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) July 16, 2019
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 aboubt Pelosi but people weren’t cooperating. So Cleaver then just said “I abandon the chair” and LEFT!
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 16, 2019
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Penn.) condemned what he called the Democrats’ latest effort to harass the president:
I strongly oppose Democrat leadership’s latest effort to harass @realDonaldTrump. For years, he and his supporters have been subjected to baseless attacks. Such slander is a disservice to our nation and the American people, and I am tired of it. pic.twitter.com/htnUA3B2Dc
— Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) July 16, 2019
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took to Twitter to announce that Pelosi would no longer be able to speak on the floor for the remainder 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
The facts are clear: the House rules of order and decency were broken by the very person tasked with upholding them—the Speaker of the House. But just now, Democrats voted to ignore the rules and give special treatment to one of their own.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 16, 2019
McCarthy charged that Democrats have turned the House into “a weapon of political theater.”
Democrats have turned the House of Representatives into a weapon of political theater. They aren’t interested in legislation. They’re only here for retribution. https://t.co/ul3IWPrUp8
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 16, 2019
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