More than 120 House Democrats on Tuesday called on President-elect Trump to abandon his decision to name former Breitbart chief Steve Bannon as his top strategist, and said Bannon’s past makes him incompatible with Trump’s goal of uniting the country.
BREAKING: Rep Cicilline circulating letter to colleagues asking @realDonaldTrump to rescind Bannon appointment. 120 co-signers so far. pic.twitter.com/0BszXfwCZj
— Cicilline Press Office (@RepCicilline) November 15, 2016
“As elected representatives of millions of Americans from diverse backgrounds, religions and ethnicities, we strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to appoint Mr. Bannon to White House chief strategist,” the Democrats wrote in a letter released by Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.
Cicilline said more than 120 Democrats had signed the letter, and more signatures could be coming.
Democrats have accused Bannon of supporting white supremacy, and using Breitbart to support the “alt-right.”
“Under Mr. Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart has referred to a leading Republican who opposed your election as a ‘renegade Jew,’ suggested ‘young Muslims in the West are a ticking time bomb,’ declared that the ‘Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage’ and praised the alt-right as a ‘smarter’ version of ‘old-school racist skinheads,'” they wrote.
“Mr. Bannon’s appointment sends the wrong message to people who have engaged in those types of activities, indicating that they will not only be tolerated, but endorsed by your administration,” they wrote.
