WASHINGTON — Action on the floor of the House of Representatives was suspended for more than an hour Wednesday after Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., was removed from the list. criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.
“Our presumptive presidential nominee is facing 88 criminal charges and we’re being prevented from even admitting it,” McGovern said during a House floor debate, suggesting House Republicans have blocked any honest discussion about Trump’s impeachment. “In the United States, he is being tried for sending a presidential candidate paying a porn star Avoiding a sex scandal during the 2016 campaign and then fraudulently disguising those payments as a violation of the law.”
House Republicans quickly pushed back on McGover’s remarks, prompting a lengthy back-and-forth as House staffers figured out how to proceed. What he said was deemed inappropriate in the end.
The situation began when McGovern, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, appealed to Republican members of Congress. He participated in Trump’s silent money trial in New York. “Maybe they want to distract from the fact that their presidential candidate is being accused more than when he was elected,” he said.
Chairing the debate, Rep. Jerry Carl McGovern, R-Ala., reminded McGovern to “avoid dealing with personalities” against the presumptive presidential nominees.
McGovern responded and asked if it was “unparliamentary to reveal a fact”.
He then asked why a Republican member could call Trump’s impeachment a “fraud” on the floor of the House last week and not face the same recommendation from the speaker. within one floor speech May 15Rep. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, repeatedly referred to the “sham lawsuit against the former president in New York,” which he said was “based on something.” unreliable witness presided over by a biased judge.”
Although Carl said he would not consider it, McGovern began reviewing Trump’s legal status.
“He is also accused they conspired to cancel the elections“he said about Trump. “He too accused of stealing classified informationand the jury has already found for him is responsible for rape and in civil court. However, in this Republican-controlled House, you can talk about a trial, but you have to call it a ‘frost’.”
At that point, Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., interjected and asked that McGovern’s remarks be “taken down.” Representatives be able make such a request if they feel that one of their colleagues has used inappropriate language.
After more than an hour of staff huddled, Karl ruled that McGovern’s “offensive remarks” were out of order, citing past rulings by House speakers.
In particular, Carl pointed to rules that prohibit members from using “personally offensive” language about the president.
“Allegations that the president has committed a crime or even that the president has done something illegal are inappropriate,” Karl said.
Even though Trump is no longer in office, Carl added precedents they gave the same treatment of presidents as presumptive candidates.
The removal of his remarks meant that McGovern was not allowed to speak on the floor for the rest of the day.
“They can silence me on the floor of the House of Representatives, but they can’t silence me here,” McGovern later told reporters outside the Capitol. “And you know I didn’t say anything I regret. Nothing I said is inaccurate. I did not describe the tests.”
A similar situation It happened in 2019 Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Trump’s tweets “racist” during floor debate. When his remarks faltered, Democrats voted to prevent them from being expunged from the record and allow him to retain his ability to speak on the floor for the day.
“It’s a cult,” McGovern said of Republicans. “I mean, they’re going to extreme lengths to protect Trump. And in any way. And they are very sensitive.”
Rebecca Kaplan contributed.