Four Republican lawmakers on Tuesday bucked their own party and voted in favor of a Democrat-led resolution condemning President Trump’s inflammatory tweets targeting a group of minority congresswomen.
The Republicans who voted for the resolution were Reps. Susan Brooks (Ind.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Will Hurd (Texas) and Fred Upton (Mich.). Brooks is slated to retire at the end of her term, while the other three are moderates in competitive districts.
{mosads}The resolution, led by freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), comes in the wake of Trump tweeting on Sunday that the progressive lawmakers — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) — should “go back” to the “places from which they came.”
The resolution condemning the tweets ultimately passed the House in a 240-187 vote.
Trump’s remarks sparked a flurry of backlash, with Democrats and a handful of Republicans blasting the comments as racist and xenophobic.
Upton argued the president’s comments were unacceptable, particularly coming from the leader of the free world.
“Today’s resolution was targeted at the specific words that frankly are not acceptable from a leader in any workplace large or small,” he said in a statement.
“If we’re going to bring civility back to the center of our politics, we must speak out against inflammatory rhetoric from anyone in any party anytime it happens. America embraces diversity, and that must continue,” he continued.
Brooks echoed Upton’s sentiments, adding she would like to see Democrats take similar action over controversial statements made by members of their party.
“I believe our diverse backgrounds as Americans make our country greater and stronger. These differences should be celebrated by all of us. Today, I voted to condemn the racially offensive remarks the leader of our country made. However, I remain disappointed that the Democrats refuse to hold their own members accountable for their targeted, anti-Semitic and hateful speech,” she said in a statement.
“The lack of civility between the executive and legislative branches has reached an unacceptable low. We must remember our words matter and carry great weight. Our words and the ways in which we deliver them have a lasting impact on those who hear them. My hope for our country is that we can move beyond divisive rhetoric in order to more effectively govern,” she added.
Numerous other GOP lawmakers came out against the comments but opted not to support the resolution, saying they saw it as a partisan ploy by Democrats crafted for political gain.
House Republican leadership informally whipped against the resolution on Tuesday, encouraging members of the conference to vote against it.
“Tonight’s resolution serves no one and fixes nothing. Over the past weeks, the radical Democrat agenda has been in plain view: the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, abortion extremism, and free health care for illegal immigrants. Fights over socialist policies within the Democrat caucus dominated the headlines. That is, until Democrats rushed this resolution to the House floor in order to unify around their opposition to President Trump,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in a statement.
“This resolution divides our nation and distracts us from addressing the issues the American people sent us here to solve. It’s time House Democrats start focusing on the real problems facing the American people, instead of their own,” he added.
Brooks’s, Fitzpatrick’s and Hurd’s offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment.