Democrats on Tuesday defeated a resolution by Kevin McCarthy, leader of the House of Commons, to reprimand Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters after she urged Minnesota protesters to “stay on the streets” and “become more confrontational” than they were. do not see that a conviction in the Derek Chauvin trial regarding the death of George Floyd.
The House voted to table Resolutions 216 to 210 along party lines. It was a victory for the Democratic leadership of the House, as they could only afford two Democratic variances on the ballot. There were no deviations on either side, with all Democrats at the table and all Republicans voting to continue. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer entered the room talking to members as they entered, indicating how important the Democratic leadership views the vote.
After the vote, Waters said: “I love my colleagues and they love me. I do not want to do anything to hurt them or harm their chances of re-election. I will make sure they are comfortable with my kind. advocacy so we can all be sure we can do the right thing. ‘
McCarthy called Waters’ remarks “below the dignity” of the House and said in a tweet that ”
Popular news
Popular news more
“I hope we get a verdict that says guilty, guilty, guilty,” she said.
Her comments also come in the wake of the death of Daunte Wright, a black man killed by a Minnesota police officer.
When reporters asked Waters this past weekend what should happen if justice does not serve in the courts in the Chauvin trial, Waters replied: ‘We have to stay on the streets. And we need to become more active. We need to become more confrontational. They need to know what we mean by business. ‘
After Chauvin was convicted on all three charges, second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, Waters said, “You know someone said it better than I did, ‘I’m not celebrating, I’m relieved. ‘”
In comments to The Grio on Monday, she did not retract some of her remarks, saying she was ‘non-violent’. She accused Republicans of distorting her words and using them as a fundraising event.
“Republicans will jump on any word, any rule and try to make it fit with their message and their case to denounce us and deny us, and call us basically violent … every time they get a chance to to seize a word, they do it and they send a message to all the white supremacists, the KKK, the Oath Guards, the [Proud] Boys and all that, how it’s a time for [Republicans] to raise money [Democrats] backs, ”Waters told The Grio.
House President Nancy Pelosi also defended Waters’ comments, saying that Waters “talked about confrontation like the civil rights movement,” and she said, “No, I do not think she should apologize.”
Republicans accused Waters of inciting tensions. Georgia’s representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would pass a resolution to kick Waters out of the House, an extremely unlikely scenario.
Waters has served in Congress since 1991 and chairs the House Financial Services Committee.
Nikole Killion and Rebecca Kaplan contributed to this report.