美国国家公共电台 NPR House GOP Leaders Move To Strip Rep. Steve King Of Committee Assignments

House GOP Leaders Move To Strip Rep. Steve King Of Committee Assignments

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Tonight, House Republicans took a rare step to punish one of their own, Iowa Republican Congressman² Steve King. Here's Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: We will not be seating Steve King on any committees in the 116th Congress.

KELLY: This action follows comments that King made last week in The New York Times in which he was quoted questioning why the terms white supremacy³ and white nationalist became offensive. At the same time, House Democrats⁵ are moving forward with plans of their own for a resolution to rebuke⁶ King on the House floor.

NPR's Susan Davis joins us now from the Capitol. Hey there, Sue.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE⁷: Hey there.

KELLY: So this vote tonight by House Republicans to strip Steve King of his committee assignments - they say the messages these kind of racial comments will not be tolerated, but - worth noting King has been making these kinds of racial comments his whole career on Capitol Hill, 16 years now. So what took Republicans so long?

DAVIS: You know, I asked a lot of lawmakers this question today because as you know, Steve King has a very long history of making racially insensitive or racist⁸ remarks. I talked to one top Democrat⁴, Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, who said he really thought a tipping point for Republicans was when South Carolina Republican Tim Scott, an African-American and a rising star in the party, wrote an editorial in The Washington Post calling King out and saying the party has problems when they stay silent on these matters.

I also talked to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and put this very question to him tonight about what took him so long, and this is what he told me.

MCCARTHY: I have not been in Congress for those 16 years. I have just now become the leader of the Republican Party. Maybe I had not seen those, but I'd - I heard these. I disagree with these. These are reckless. These are wrong. These are nothing associated with America.

DAVIS: Clearly the leaders trying to set a new tone here in this Congress. We should note, Mary Louise, that King did put out a response to the decision to strip him of his assignments. He said the leader's decision was a political decision that ignores the truth. And King has said his comments were taken out of context. He has denied allegations that he is a racist, and he has simply described his own views as being an American nationalist.

KELLY: Now, meanwhile, I mentioned that Democrats are working on their own plans. Can you give us any more detail on what they might have up their sleeve?

DAVIS: They're updating how far they want to go on this. One thing is certain. James Clyburn - he's the House majority whip. He's expected to introduce a resolution of disapproval⁹. Congress has done this before. You might remember they did this in 2009 against South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson for shouting you lie at President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address - similar kind of reprimand. It's essentially¹⁰ just a public rebuke. The House could vote on that as soon as tomorrow. Some Democrats want to go further. People like Tim Ryan of Ohio, Bobby Rush of Illinois say they want to go so far as to censure¹¹ the congressman. That is about shy of expulsion. It's a pretty serious reprimand. But Clyburn has been hesitant to say they should go that far.

KELLY: One prominent new voice on Capitol Hill who's arguing that they should go even further - I'm talking about Utah Republican Senator Mitt¹ Romney. He has called on Congressman King to resign outright¹² from Congress. Are you hearing other voices calling for that?

DAVIS: You know, it is worth noting that Romney is one of many, many, many Republicans who over the years have courted Steve King and his endorsement¹³ because of his place in Iowa. Mitt Romney did so in 2012. He endorsed¹⁴ Steve King for re-election in the past. So far, not many Republicans have joined that call. McCarthy and other prominent Republicans including Tim Scott have said that decision should rest with Iowa's voters. We should note that the governor there, Kim Reynolds, has said she will not support Steve King for re-election in 2020. And he is already facing a primary challenge if he chooses to run for re-election from state Republican Senator Randy Feenstra.

KELLY: All right, thanks so much, Sue.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

KELLY: That's NPR's Susan Davis keeping us up to date from Capitol Hill tonight.

1 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

9 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

12 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

13 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

14 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》