House Democrats laugh at GOP leader’s defense of Republican behind racist anti-Haitian tweet

25 September 2024

After Rep. Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana) posted a tweet bashing both Haiti and its people, a wave of backlash led to him deleting it. Now, some Democrats are calling for Higgins to be officially censured.

On Wednesday, Higgins weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding both former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) spreading a widely debunked lie about Haitian refugees in Springfield, Ohio eating residents' pets. Earlier this week, the nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance pushed for criminal charges against Trump and Vance for knowingly lying about the Haitian community, which they say was a direct contributor to the wave of threats to Haitians in Ohio and elsewhere.

In his tweet. Higgins wrote: "Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP. All these thugs better get their mind right and their a— out of our country before January 20th."

Higgins' tweet led to Rep. Steve Horsford (D-Nevada) to file an official motion to censure Higgins. He argued that a censure was warranted in order for Congress to send a message to the Haitian community that racist attacks from members are not tolerated.

"It is time to end hate, and the rhetoric of hate, and it is not becoming on any member to continue to push this type of rhetoric on any platform — let alone from the House of Representatives," Horsford said. "I ask unanimous consent to accept my motion to censure Representative Clay Higgins for violating Rule 9, by bringing discredit and disgrace to the House of Representatives."

At that point, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) rose to defend his Bayou State colleague, objecting to the motion on the basis that Higgins eventually took down his post. That objection prompted audible laughter from Democratic members present in the chamber.

"First of all, the tweet has been deleted already, and removed," Scalise said, while some Democrats are heard in the background laughing. "And if we want to go through everything the other side has said we'll be happy to do it!"

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told reporters during an impromptu press conference Wednesday that Higgins ultimately decided to delete the tweet after taking a moment to pray about it after it was posted. The censure motion has not yet passed as of Wednesday evening.

If he is censured, Higgins would be the third member of 2024 to be officially reprimanded by his colleagues. Earlier this year, the House voted along party lines to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-New York) for pulling a fire alarm and interrupting an ongoing vote. Members also censured Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) — the first Palestinian American elected to Congress — for remarks she made about Israel's bombing of Gaza.

Watch the video of Horsford's speech and Scalise's response below, or by clicking this link.

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