'Archie Bunker': Native American leaders slam Senate Republican for calling House GOP 'wild Indians'

Native American leaders are calling for Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) to apologize for remarks he made comparing his Republican counterparts in the House of Representatives to "wild Indians."

While speaking to reporters about new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Cornyn questioned whether the relatively inexperienced Congressman would be able to "deal with this bunch of wild Indians over in the House" following the House Republican Conference's three-week struggle to elect a speaker. The Houston Chronicle reported that Fawn Sharp — the head of the National Congress of American Indians — described Cornyn's remarks as "deeply disrespectful." He encouraged Cornyn to "seize this moment as an opportunity to educate himself about the rich history, struggles, accomplishments, and dignity of Native peoples."

"It perpetuates damaging stereotypes about our diverse and vibrant American Indian and Alaska Native communities," Sharp said of Cornyn's remark.

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Ricky Sylestine, chairman of the Texas-based Alabama-Coushatta Tribe, called the Texas senator's comment a "derogatory phrase."

"We would welcome any opportunity for him to explain why he thinks the verbiage he used was appropriate or necessary," Sylestine said.

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-California) piled on, saying Cornyn's remark was insulting to the Native American constituents that reside in his mostly rural district.

"You sound like Archie Bunker," Huffman said, in reference to the bigoted 1970s sitcom character.

While Cornyn hasn't apologized for or explained his remark, he's not the only Republican senator to doubt House Republicans' leadership abilities. After former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) became the first sitting speaker to be ousted from the position by his own party, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) thanked McCarthy for his service. He then called on House Republicans to change rules instituted in early 2023 that allowed any single member of the House to file a motion to vacate the speaker, saying the rule made it "impossible" for the body to function.

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