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House Condemns Trump’s Attack on Four Congresswomen as Racist

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‘I Know Racism When I See It’: Congress Debates Trump’s Tweets

The House voted on Tuesday to condemn President Trump’s attacks against four congresswomen of color as racist. The measure passed 240 to 187, with votes largely falling along party lines.

“I know racism when I see it. I know racism when I feel it. And at the highest level of government there’s no room for racism.” “The very essence of the resolution, which has issues beyond, needs to be considered. And when we do this, then I think, as I said in my opening and I’ll stick by what I said then, that this needs to be voted down. This does not need to go forward. And we need to get to a certain time when we are back to literally doing the people’s business.” “At the end there is no excuse for any response to those words but a swift and strong unified condemnation. Every single member of this institution, Democratic and Republican, should join us in condemning the president’s racist tweets.”

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The House voted on Tuesday to condemn President Trump’s attacks against four congresswomen of color as racist. The measure passed 240 to 187, with votes largely falling along party lines.CreditCredit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The House voted on Tuesday to condemn as racist President Trump’s attacks against four congresswomen of color, but only after the debate over the president’s language devolved into a bitterly partisan brawl that showcased deep rifts over race, ethnicity and political ideology in the age of Trump.

The measure, the first House rebuke of a president in more than 100 years, passed nearly along party lines, 240 to 187, after one of the most polarizing exchanges on the floor in recent times. Only four Republicans and the House’s lone independent, Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, voted with all Democrats to condemn the president.

[Update: House votes to kill Trump impeachment resolution.]

“I know racism when I see it, I know racism when I feel it, and at the highest level of government, there’s no room for racism,” said Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, an icon of the civil rights movement.

Some Republicans were just as adamant in their defense of Mr. Trump: “What has really happened here is that the president and his supporters have been forced to endure months of allegations of racism,” said Representative Dan Meuser, Republican of Pennsylvania. “This ridiculous slander does a disservice to our nation.”

[Read the text of the resolution.]

Republicans ground the proceedings to a halt shortly before the House was to vote on the nonbinding resolution, which calls Mr. Trump’s tweets and verbal volleys “racist comments that have legitimized increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.” It was the Democrats’ response to Mr. Trump’s attacks on Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who he said should “go back” to their countries, an insult that he has continued to employ in the days since.

“There’s no excuse for any response to those words but a swift and strong, unified condemnation,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said as the House debated the resolution. “Every single member of this institution, Democratic and Republican, should join us in condemning the president’s racist tweets.”

As Republicans rose to protest, Ms. Pelosi turned toward them on the House floor and picked up her speech, her voice rising as she added, “To do anything less would be a shocking rejection of our values and a shameful abdication of our oath of office to protect the American people.”

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President Trump held up a sheet of paper showing a photograph of Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday at the White House.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, made a formal objection to the remarks, charging that they had violated the rules of decorum, which call for lawmakers to avoid impugning the motives of their colleagues or the president. It was a stunning turn in a debate about Mr. Trump’s own incendiary language.

Mr. Trump on Tuesday denied that his tweets were racist and implored House Republicans to reject the measure. The president raged on Twitter, calling the House resolution a “con game” as he renewed his harsh criticism of the congresswomen.

“Those Tweets were NOT Racist,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show ‘weakness’ and fall into their trap.”

Late Tuesday, the president praised how the Republicans voted, tweeting, “So great to see how unified the Republican Party was on today’s vote concerning statements I made about four Democrat Congresswomen.”

The vote was a show of unity for Democrats — who had been squabbling for weeks — and a test of Republican principles. In the end, the only Republicans to cross party lines were Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, Susan W. Brooks of Indiana, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Will Hurd of Texas, the House’s only black Republican.

But as the debate played out, the scene devolved into a spectacle.

At one point, Representative Emanuel Cleaver II, Democrat of Missouri, who was presiding in the House when Republicans challenged Ms. Pelosi’s words, banged the gavel, rose from the marble dais and stormed off the floor. “We aren’t ever, ever going to pass up, it seems, an opportunity to escalate, and that’s what this is,” Mr. Cleaver said, his voice rising in frustration. “We want to just fight.”

For their part, Republicans took to the floor not to defend the president’s remarks but to condemn Democrats for what they called a breach of decorum.

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Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said, “The president is not a racist.”Credit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Ultimately, it was left to Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the majority leader, to recite the official ruling that Ms. Pelosi had, in fact, violated a House rule against characterizing an action as “racist.” The move by Republicans to have her words stricken from the record then failed along party lines, and Ms. Pelosi was unrepentant.

“I stand by my statement,” she said as she strode through the Capitol. “I’m proud of the attention being called to it because what the president said was completely inappropriate.”

While Democrats were publicly unanimous in their support of the resolution, some moderate lawmakers from Republican-leaning districts that backed Mr. Trump in 2016 privately voiced their discomfort. They said that while the president’s comments had been racist, the party was playing into his hands by spending so much time condemning his remarks, according to centrist lawmakers and senior aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

They were particularly angry about being asked to vote to condone Ms. Pelosi’s breach of the rules, which two of them described as throwing moderate lawmakers “under the bus” in order to help the speaker shore up support among progressives who had been alienated by her feud with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and her allies. One lawmaker described the upshot of the extraordinary episode as “another week burned on his terms instead of ours.”

The scene underscored the intensity of feeling prompted by Mr. Trump’s latest comments. Republicans spent the day arguing that Democrats, particularly Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s so-called Squad, were no better.

“In those tweets, I see nothing that references anybody’s race — not a thing — I don’t see anyone’s name being referenced in the tweets, but the president’s referring to people, congresswomen, who are anti-American,” said Representative Sean P. Duffy, Republican of Wisconsin. “And lo and behold, everybody in this chamber knows who he’s talking about.”

Mr. Duffy’s comments prompted an angry response from Representative Pramila Jayapal, Democrat of Washington, who sought to register an official objection. She said the use of the word “anti-American” was “completely inappropriate” but was not allowed to formally ask to have the words stricken.

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Congresswomen Hit Back After Trump Escalates Attack Widely Viewed as Racist

On Monday, hours after President Trump defended his Twitter attacks on Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna S. Pressley, the four Democratic congresswomen of color held a news conference to respond to his remarks.

“As far as I’m concerned, if you hate our country, if you’re not happy here, you can leave. And that’s what I say all the time. That’s what I said in a tweet, which I guess some people think is controversial. A lot of people love it, by the way. A lot of people love it. They hate our country. They hate it. I think with a passion. Now, it’s possible I’m wrong. The voter will decide. But when I hear the way they talk about our country. When I hear the anti-Semitic language they use. When I hear the hatred they have for Israel and the love they have for enemies like Al Qaeda, then you know what? I will tell you that I do, I do not believe this is good for the Democrat party. Certainly it’s not the party that I’ve known over the years.” “And many people saw that tweet as racist and that white nationalist groups are finding common cause with you on that point.” “It doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me. And all I’m saying, they want to leave, they can leave now. It doesn’t say leave forever. It says leave, if you want.” “The first note that I want to tell children across this country is that no matter what the president says, this country belongs to you. And it belongs to everyone. And today that notion, that very notion was challenged.” “He’s launching a blatantly racist attack on four duly elected members of the United States of House of Representatives, all of whom are women of color. This is the agenda of white nationalists, whether it is happening in chat rooms or it’s happening on national TV. And now it’s reached the White House garden.” “Many members of Congress have called for his impeachment because of his utter disregard and disrespect of the United States Constitution. And despite this and other many attempts to distract us, I remain focused. We remain focused on holding him accountable to the laws of this land and accountable to the American people.”

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On Monday, hours after President Trump defended his Twitter attacks on Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna S. Pressley, the four Democratic congresswomen of color held a news conference to respond to his remarks.CreditCredit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

At a closed-door meeting of House Democrats on Tuesday morning, Ms. Pelosi set the stage for the debate, calling the four freshman congresswomen “our sisters,” and saying Mr. Trump’s insults echoed hurtful and offensive remarks he makes every day.

“So this is a resolution based in who we are as a people, as well as a recognition of the unacceptability of what his goals were,” Ms. Pelosi told Democrats, according to an aide present for the private meeting who described her remarks on condition of anonymity. “This is, I hope, one where we will get Republican support. If they can’t support condemning the words of the president, well, that’s a message in and of itself.”

A smattering of Republicans have denounced Mr. Trump’s performance, including Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts. The president’s comments “were shameful, they were racist,” he told WBUR in Boston on Monday, “and they bring a tremendous amount of, sort of, disgrace to public policy and public life, and I condemn them all.”

But most Republican leaders refrained from criticizing Mr. Trump, at least directly, and top House Republicans lobbied their colleagues to oppose the resolution.

Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader and a close ally of the president’s, said he would oppose the measure, and when asked whether Mr. Trump’s tweets were racist, he replied flatly: “No.”

Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said that all politicians should dial back their rhetoric. But he did not take issue with Mr. Trump, saying that “the president’s not a racist.”

Earlier, Mr. Trump tried to shift the focus to what he called “HORRIBLE” things said by the four liberal freshman congresswomen, who have been among the most outspoken in their criticisms of him. On Monday, they described Mr. Trump as racist, xenophobic, misogynistic and criminal.

“This should be a vote on the filthy language, statements and lies told by the Democrat Congresswomen, who I truly believe, based on their actions, hate our Country,” Mr. Trump tweeted.

While some Democrats had pressed for a stronger resolution of censure, House leaders opted instead for a narrower measure based on Mr. Trump’s latest remarks, in an effort to generate a unanimous vote in their party.

During the meeting on Tuesday morning, Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts and the chairman of the Rules Committee, warned members to take care with their language during the debate, including checking with the official in charge of enforcing floor procedures to make sure their speeches would not violate House rules against making personal references to the president on the floor.

Ms. Pelosi advised Democrats to focus on how Mr. Trump’s “words were racist,” which would keep them in compliance with the rules. Later, after Mr. Collins objected to her speech, Ms. Pelosi shot back that she had cleared them in advance to ensure they were within bounds.

It is virtually unheard-of for Congress to rebuke a sitting president. The last one to be challenged was William Howard Taft, who served from 1909 to 1913. He was accused of having tried to influence a disputed Senate election, but in the end, the Senate passed a watered-down resolution and the phrase “ought to be severely condemned” was removed.

While the vote on Tuesday was symbolic and nonbinding, the debate dramatized the conflict between Democrats and a president who has organized his agenda and his re-election campaign around stoking racial controversy and casting the group of progressive stars as dangerous extremists to be feared.

Among other things, the resolution declares that the House “believes that immigrants and their descendants have made America stronger,” that “those who take the oath of citizenship are every bit as American as those whose families have lived in the United States for many generations,” and that the House “is committed to keeping America open to those lawfully seeking refuge and asylum from violence and oppression, and those who are willing to work hard to live the American Dream, no matter their race, ethnicity, faith, or country of origin.”

One after another, Republicans rose to reject the criticism of Mr. Trump, arguing that it was Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and her colleagues — who have sometimes used coarse language to describe Mr. Trump and his policies — who should be rebuked and punished for their words and conduct.

“When we consider the power of this chamber to legislate for the common good,” Mr. Collins said, “I wonder why my colleagues have become so eager to attack the president they are willing to sacrifice the rules, precedent and the integrity of the people’s house for an unprecedented vote that undercuts its very democratic processes.”

The Democratic unity on the vote could prove short-lived. Moments after the measure passed, Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, went to the House floor to reintroduce his articles of impeachment against the president. If Mr. Green can force a debate, the divisions between liberals and more moderate Democrats will almost certainly re-emerge.

Reporting was contributed by Emily Cochrane, Nicholas Fandos, Catie Edmondson and Sheryl Gay Stolberg.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: After Fiery Fray, House Condemns Trump’s Tweets. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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