House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced on Monday that he will move to censure Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters (CA) for allegedly inciting violence with remarks that she made over the weekend.
“This weekend in Minnesota, Maxine Waters broke the law by violating curfew and then incited violence. Increased unrest has already led to violence against law enforcement and her comments intentionally poured fuel on the fire,” McCarthy said in a statement. “We’ve heard this type of violent rhetoric from Waters before, and the United States Congress must clearly and without reservation reprimand this behavior before more people get hurt. But Speaker Pelosi is ignoring Waters’ behavior. That’s why I am introducing a resolution to censure Rep. Waters for these dangerous comments, and I hope that all my colleagues – both Republican and Democrat – will stand up for peace on America’s streets.”
According to House Democrat Caucus rules, if Waters is censured then she would be stripped of her position as chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee.
Rule 25 states:
A Chair of a standing, select, special, or joint committee of the Congress, or subcommittee thereof, who is censured by a vote of the House when the Democratic Party is the majority party in the House of Representatives, or who is convicted of a felony for which a sentence of two or more years of imprisonment may be imposed, shall cease to exercise the powers of the Chair and shall not serve as Chair of any committee or subcommittee for the remainder of that Congress.
Waters said at a protest in Minnesota over the weekend that “protesters” were “looking for a guilty verdict” and if they don’t get what they want then “we cannot go away.” When asked what “protesters” should do if they do not get the verdict that they want, Waters responded that activists have “got to stay on the street,” “get more active,” and “get more confrontational.”
This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.