Steve King condemns white supremacy in House vote inspired by his musings on white supremacy

The Iowa Republican continues to say his question about why “white supremacist” is an offensive term was misconstrued.

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WASHINGTON (JTA) — Steve King, the pariah Iowa Republican congressman, joined 423 other members of the House in condemning white supremacy in a resolution responding to his musings on white supremacy.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 424-1 to condemn white supremacy, with members taking to the floor to make clear that they were voting against King, who last week wondered in an interview with The New York Times why the terms “white supremacist” and “white nationalist” were offensive.

“Well, I will tell him, and anyone else who may be confused,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Jewish chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “These hateful ideologies are dangerous not just because they, too often, lead to violence.” Nadler mentioned the October massacre of 11 Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh and the deadly August 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia.

King said he agreed with the sentiments in the resolution while continuing to defend his remarks, saying they were misconstrued — he meant only to wonder why the term “Western civilization” caused offense.

The single vote against was by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., who wanted the body to go further and censure King.

King has been condemned by the entirety of the GOP leadership, with some Republicans calling for his resignation. He has said he will see out his two-year term. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California stripped King of his influential committee assignments. The Republican Jewish Coalition condemned King, as it has multiple times when the Iowan, who has ties with white supremacists and anti-Semites overseas, made similar comments in the past.

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