Hurd votes to condemn Trump for tweets
U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of San Antonio was the lone Texas Republican in Congress to join all House Democrats in condemning President Donald Trump’s personal attacks against four Democratic congresswomen of color as racist.
Responding to a series of tweets in which Trump said the women should “go back” to their own countries, members of the House passed a resolution Tuesday formally denouncing his comments.
“There is no room in America for racism, sexism, antisemitism, xenophobia and hate,” Hurd said on Twitter after the vote. “I voted to condemn the President’s tweets today but I hope that Speaker Pelosi also considers holding members of her own party accountable to the same degree to which she holds the President.”
Trump’s remarks quickly drew backlash from Democrats and some Republicans, including Hurd and three other GOP Texans in Congress. Despite their criticism, Reps. Chip Roy of Austin, Pete Olson of Sugar Land and Ron Wright of Arlington voted against rebuking Trump.
Hurd was one of four Republicans who broke ranks by voting in favor of the measure, which passed 240-187. GOP Reps. Michael Burgess of Lewisville, Louie Gohmert of Tyler, Kay Granger of Fort Worth, Kenny Marchant of Coppell and Roger Williams of Austin did not cast votes. Every other Republican from Texas voted against it.
Trump’s “racist comments have legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color,” the resolution reads.
The president’s Twitter rant was directed at Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. All of the women are American citizens and three were born in the U.S.
Ahead of the vote, Rep. Sheila
“We cannot go on to all that is good without saying to the nation and the world that this is not good, it is not America, and we will not accept that as our definition because we do believe in the creation of a more perfect union.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, urged lawmakers to pass the measure and reaffirm Americans’ “fundamental rights to respect and dignity.”
“We cannot go on to all that is good without saying to the nation and the world that this is not good, it is not America, and we will not accept that as our definition because we do believe in the creation of a more perfect union,” said Jackson Lee, who co-sponsored the resolution.
“We condemn the hurtful and offensive comments that demean immigrants and people of color, especially when those comments originate from the White House,” she added.
House Republicans attempted to derail the measure by referencing chamber rules that prohibit lawmakers from referring to a statement by the president as “racist” on the floor. However, their motion was defeated and debate resumed.