Rep. Steve King ousted from House agriculture committee

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has been stripped of his House agriculture committee assignment, as well as other committee assignments.

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Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa | Photo courtesy of Rep. Steve King
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa | Photo courtesy of Rep. Steve King

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has been stripped of his House agriculture committee assignment, as well as other committee assignments.

King is known in the animal agriculture sector as the author of the Protect Interstate Commerce Act (PICA), a piece of recurring legislation that seeks to prevent states from engaging in the regulation of agricultural products that are lawfully produced or manufactured in other states. Examples of this would be laws in California, where eggs produced or sold there must come from hens that meet specific housing criteria.

However, in larger circles, he is known for making comments that can be perceived as racist. Those comments are what led House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, and other House Republican leaders to strip King of his committee assignments.

King, in a statement on his website, defended a recent comment he made that was published in the New York Times, saying it was taken out of context. According to the Times report, King allegedly said, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”

King also indicated McCarthy’s decision was a poor one.

“Leader McCarthy’s decision to remove me from committees is a political decision that ignores the truth,” King stated. “ … Ultimately, I told him ‘You have to do what you have to do and I will do what I have to do.’ I will continue to point out the truth and work with all the vigor that I have to represent 4th District Iowans for at least the next two years.”

King, in November, was re-elected to a ninth term in Congress by a margin of a little more than 3 percent.

While there are efforts to censure King, at least one Republican House member is seeking his resignation.

In an interview with CNN, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said McCarthy made the right decision, because King on multiple occasions has made remarks that the Republican Party “just cringes at.”

“I wish he’d resign, frankly,” Stewart said. “He can’t do the work. He’s lost the trust and faith of his comrades. For the good of the party, for the good of the American people, I think its time we make a change.”

PICA, which failed as an amendment to the 2014 and 2018 farm bills, has been reintroduced in 2019 with some bipartisan support. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota, is a co-sponsor on the bill.

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