The House erupted into chaos on Wednesday as Democrats attempted to censure Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., over a social media post from the lawmaker that amplified Donald Trump’s false claims about Haitian immigrants and referred to them as “wild” and “thugs.”
The uproar centers on a post from Higgins Wednesday afternoon on the social media platform X, in which the congressman wrote that immigrants from the Caribbean nation should get “their ass out of our country.” He also called Haiti the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere.” The post has since been deleted.
Higgins’ words came in response to an Associated Press report that a nonprofit Haitian group has filed citizen criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, for the pair’s role in repeatedly spreading false claims that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are kidnapping and eating residents’ pets.
House Democrats Wednesday evening attempted to force a vote on a resolution to censure Higgins over the social media rant, arguing that such remarks from an official congressional account violate House rules on official conduct.
Rep. Steven Horsford, the Nevada Democrat who introduced the censure resolution and who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said Higgins’ words “are inciting hate, they are inciting fear, and because of that, it is time for this body to stand with one voice and to ensure there is accountability.”
The effort appears to have the backing of House Democratic Leadership, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., calling Higgins’ post “vile” and “racist” in a statement. Higgins, he added, “must be held accountable for dishonorable conduct that is unbecoming of a Member of Congress.”
Meanwhile, several House Republicans have also expressed dismay over Higgins’ remarks.
“The Haitian people are good and honorable people, who contribute greatly to our country,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., wrote on X Wednesday night. “No one should attack or disparage them. Let’s do better.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that Higgins had been confronted on the floor about the social media post prior to Democrats’ move to censure him. In response, Johnson said, Higgins told him he “prayed about it, and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down.” He added that Higgins “probably regrets some of the language he used. But, you know, we move forward.”
Higgins’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democrats’ efforts to censure Higgins quickly unraveled into a confusing procedural back-and-forth with Republicans on the House floor.
First, Democrats struggled to bring a censure measure to the floor.
Horsford repeatedly attempted to offer various motions to censure Higgins and refer the matter to the Ethics Committee. But the House rules don’t define any process for a member to be censured through a motion, rather than under a resolution, and the chair ruled that Horsford’s motions were not in order.
Horsford then asked unanimous consent to allow his motion to censure Higgins to be considered, but Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., objected.
“If we want to go through every comment and tweet from the other side, we would be happy to do it, but you would be appalled…” Scalise retorted.
Minutes later, Horsford introduced a resolution to censure Higgins, which he read on the floor, and invoked procedures that would allow it to take precedence over other House business.
The resolution would state that Higgins “used his official account on X to publicly slander, insult and demean all Haitians and Haitian Americans in an overtly racist post.”
The House could revisit the issue when it returns after the elections.
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