House Dems try to pass bill attacking Trump

Escalating tensions on Capitol Hill erupted into a floor fight in the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke in favor of a proposed resolution condemning "racist" comments by President Trump -- and Pelosi's words were eventually ruled out of order by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat.

The House then started a vote on whether to strike Pelosi's words from the record, and is expected to vote afterward on whether to ban her from speaking on the House floor for the rest of the day. Democrats were largely voting in favor of overruling Hoyer and keeping Pelosi's comments on the record, with one Democrat member of Congress telling Fox News, "We’re going to defend our Speaker.”

The dramatic episode began when Pelosi's prepared remarks turned personal, and Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins rose to challenge her and demand that her words be "taken down." The extraordinary rebuke was the first of its kind involving a member of Congress and a speaker of the House in decades.

The scene then became even more bizarre when the chair, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., told representatives after a lengthy huddle that he was trying to make a fair ruling as to whether Pelosi had broken House rules, but people weren’t cooperating.

Cleaver simply declared, "I abandon the chair," and left -- a moment with no apparent precedent in modern congressional history. North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield, also a Democrat, then assumed the chair.

In her prepared remarks, Pelosi spoke in frank and unsparing terms about Trump's comments on Twitter over the weekend.

"There is no place anywhere for the president's words, which are not only divisive, but dangerous -- and have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color," Pelosi, D-Calif., said. "It's so sad because you would think that there would be a given that we would universally, in this body, just say, 'Of course. Of course.'"


Pelosi continued, her voice rising: "There's no excuse for any response to those words but a swift and strong unified condemnation. Every single member of this institution, Democratic and Republican, should join us in condemning the president's racist tweets. To do anything less would be a shocking rejection of our values, and a shameful abdication of our oath of office to protect the American people. I urge a unanimous vote, and yield back the balance of my time."

Collins immediately stood and asked if Pelosi wanted to "rephrase that comment."

"I have cleared my remarks with the parliamentarian before I read them," Pelosi said, before walking away to applause.

"Can I ask the words be taken down? I make a point of order that the gentlewoman's words are unparliamentary and be taken down," Collins said.

Fox News is told Collins used House Rule XXII, Clause 1(B). That rule requires that remarks on the floor “be confined to the question under debate, avoiding personality."

"The chair will remind all members, please, please, do not make personality-based comments," Cleaver said.


This same House gave the Squad a pass on anti semitism

#NeverForget

Does the GDS stand for Gosh Darn Stupid?

What racist remarks?