A Republican congressman whose startling views on white supremacy hit the headlines voted in favour of a resolution to condemn his own comments.
Steve King, a nine-term Iowa congressman, said in an interview last week: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilisation — how did that language become offensive?”
A resolution condemning King’s comments, which was sponsored by Democratic Representative James Clyburn, was approved 424-1 in the House, with King among those who voted in favour.
Citing King’s comments, the resolution said: “The House of Representatives once again rejects white nationalism and white supremacy as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the people of the United States.”
King said he agreed with the resolution, adding that the ideology of white supremacy “never shows up in my head” and that he does “not know how it could possibly come out of my mouth”.
The resolution meant so little that even Steve King could vote for it. That is why we need to censure him. We need to punish him for his bigotry and racism. #CensureSteveKing #OutFront pic.twitter.com/VgOEMdFzPK
— Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) January 16, 2019
The only member of the House to vote against the measure was Bobby Rush, a Democrat from Illinois.
He told CNN the resolution “did not go far enough”, and was “not worth the paper it’s written on”.