The House of Representatives just ruled that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi‘s criticism of President Trump violates the chamber’s rules.
She called the President a racist on the House floor for his tweets about “the squad.”
Steny-Hoyer, the House Majority Leader led off the House debate by saying “The words used by the gentlewoman from California contained an accusation of racist behavior on the part of the President,” Mr. Hoyer said. “The words should not be used in debate.”
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Here’s background on the House’s rules from the Washington Times:
The rules, which trace back to Thomas Jefferson’s writings, allow members to criticize the government or the president on the House floor in an official capacity, but they are prohibited from using language that is “personally offensive” to the president. For example, lawmakers cannot call the president a liar or hypocrite.
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On the matter of racial rhetoric, Jefferson’s Manual explicitly states that any any reference to “racial or other discrimination on the Part of the President” are not allowed.
“As such, remarks may not refer to the President as a racist, having made ‘racial slurs’ or ‘racial epithets’” the manual reads.
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According to the Congressional Research Service, if the House votes that Mrs. Pelosi’s comments violated the rules, she could be barred from speaking on the floor for the rest of the day.
My guess is taking action against Pelosi is but the first step in actually reining in “the squad” which consists of Representatives Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashid Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Otherwise there would be no point in censuring Pelosi.
