Screaming and racism accusations: Top four congressional clashes of the week

1. Demings and Jordan’s screaming match over interruption and anti-defund-the-police amendment

In a House Judiciary Committee markup on Wednesday considering a bill to provide incentives to stop debt-based suspension of driver’s licenses, Republican Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina proposed a short amendment that read: ‘‘A State that defunds, disbands, or disestablishes a law enforcement agency of that State is ineligible to receive a grant under this paragraph.”

CRUZ GRILLS STACEY ABRAMS ON CLAIM GEORGIA ELECTION WAS ‘STOLEN’ FROM HER THROUGH VOTER SUPPRESSION IN TENSE EXCHANGE

Democratic Rep. Val Demings of Florida, the former chief of Orlando’s police, criticized the amendment. “It’s interesting to see my colleagues on the other side of the aisle support the police when it is politically convenient to do so,” she said.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking member on the committee, interjected with an objection to a member characterizing another member’s motive.

“Did I strike a nerve?” Demings yelled. “Law enforcement officers deserve better than to be utilized as pawns! You and your colleague should be ashamed of yourselves!”

The amendment failed on a party-line vote of 20 to 16.

2. Jones withdraws comments after saying Republicans bring in ‘racist trash’

Freshman Democratic New York Rep. Mondaire Jones sparked Republican outrage when he countered GOP arguments against a Washington, D.C., statehood bill by effectively calling Republicans racist.

“One of my House Republican colleagues said that D.C. shouldn’t be a state because the District doesn’t have a landfill. My goodness, with all the racist trash my colleagues have brought to this debate, I can see why they’re worried about having a place to put it,” he said in a floor speech on Thursday.

Republicans on the floor objected, and Jones eventually withdrew his comments from the record.

3. Cruz presses Abrams on stolen election claim

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz grilled former Democratic Georgia state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on voting rights laws on Tuesday.

Abrams, who is now a voting rights activist, unsuccessfully ran to become the governor of Georgia in 2018, but she asserted that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp won the race by using “deliberate and intentional” voter suppression.

“You still refuse to concede that you lost the race for governor in Georgia in 2018,” Cruz said to Abrams. “Today, do you still maintain that the 2018 Georgia election was stolen?”

“As I’ve always said, I acknowledged at the very beginning that I did. Brian Kemp won under the rules that were in place, but I object to our rules that permitted thousands of Georgia voters to be denied their participation in this election,” Abrams said. “But I will continue to advocate for a system that permits every eligible Georgian to cast their ballots.”

4. Cohen snaps in voting rights hearing

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, the chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Oversight, erupted during a voting rights hearing.

“It’s time that we modernize our election system in this country and stop playing all these silly games based on race. And please stop using me as a black man as your pawn, and yes, I said it. Push your agenda. I’m sick of it. It happened a long time ago in this country,” said Republican North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

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Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy asked repeatedly for Cohen to insert information into the record.

“Maybe in a few minutes, but not right now,” Cohen said.

Roy continued pressing, and Cohen slammed his gavel and yelled about going in proper order.