Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) comments on white supremacy and white nationalism have sparked a call by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) to kick him out of government altogether.

“If Republicans really believe these racist statements have no place in our government, then their party must offer more than shallow temporary statements of condemnation,” said, CBC Chairwoman Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) in a statement.

“Instead, they must actually condemn Mr. King by removing him from his committee assignments so that he can no longer affect policies that impact the very people he has made it clear he disdains.”

King is facing fire for his comments, along with a sketchy history of racist remarks:

“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King asked in an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”

The backlash from previous comments has cost him campaign donations.

Bass said, “Republicans should make clear Mr. King is no longer welcomed in their party or Congress.”

“Anything less than these substantive actions is another tacit acceptance of racism from the Republican Party,” her statement continued.

“Like Donald Trump, Steve King has sought again and again to give comfort to white supremacists, something that should never be allowed in the halls of Congress or the Oval Office.”

Fellow Iowa Republican and Sen. Joni Ernst tweeted a statement condemning King.

“I condemn Rep. Steve King’s comments on white supremacy; they are offensive and racist — and not representative of our state of Iowa. We are a great nation and this divisiveness is hurting everyone. We cannot continue down this path if we want to continue to be a great nation,” she wrote Saturday morning.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black Republican in the Senate, wrote an op-ed as to why King’s comments make people think the Republican Party is racist.

It seems that Scott being a Republican is a conflict of interest for him. In November, he opposed Trump’s nomination of Thomas Farr to become a federal judge. Farr is an attorney who has supported voter suppression targeting Blacks.

King has not apologized for his remarks. Instead, he denied he was a white supremacist and said he regretted “the heartburn that has poured forth upon this Congress and this country and especially in my state and in my congressional district.”

He tried to clean up the comments with a remark that he is “simply a nationalist.”

He also blamed the media for the attention to his comments: “But the more you guys write about that stuff, then it becomes an issue.

This is the same man who tweeted that “Diversity is not our strength.”

This article originally appeared in The Washington Informer.

Jayme S. Ganey Special to The Informer via DiversityInc

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