Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, should seek other employment, according to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney.
“I agree with Leader McConnell actually. I think he should find another line of work,” Cheney, Wyo., told reporters Tuesday at a press conference, echoing comments the prior day by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “I think that we’ve been very clear. I think it was [a] very significant and serious step to remove him from committees. And I think that you’ve seen [this] now repeated, this wasn’t the first time.”
Cheney, the number three-ranked House Republican leader, added about King: “His language questioning whether or not the notion of white supremacy is offensive is absolutely abhorrent, it’s racist, we do not support it or agree with it. And as I said, I think he should find another line of work.”
Cheney’s comments come after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and other House Republicans voted to strip King of his committee assignments. King slammed McCarthy’s move Monday as “a political decision that ignores the truth.”
The backlash against King was prompted by an interview he gave last week to The New York Times.
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? … Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” King said, according to the newspaper.
King asserted Monday that he was only referring to Western civilization, not “any previously stated evil ideology.” King also indicated he intends to continue representing Iowa’s 4th Congressional District for the rest of his two-year term.
Two House Democrats announced plans Monday to introduce censure measures against King. The resolution brought forward by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., cited King’s 12-year history of making inflammatory statements.
