Washington, D.C. — Today, the Center for American Progress and more than 100 advocacy groups sent a letter to Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives to deny committee assignments to members who have openly promoted QAnon conspiracy theories and endorsed ideologies rooted in white supremacy. The letter comes after a mob containing many prominent white supremacists and QAnon supporters, incited by President Donald Trump, violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair democratic election.
“Promoting QAnon and white supremacist, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic ideas endangers the legitimacy of our government institutions and incites violence against vulnerable communities. We strongly urge you to demonstrate your disapproval of such ideologies and hold these Members accountable by denying them Committee assignments in the 117th Congress,” the letter reads.
The advocates note that the 116th Congress passed two House resolutions with strong bipartisan support condemning QAnon “and emphasizing how the movement ‘very likely motivate[s] some domestic extremists, wholly or in part, to engage in criminal or violent activity’” and “condemning white nationalism and white supremacy as ‘hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the people of the United States.’” The organizations urge the Republican Steering Committee to adhere to its own precedent established in January 2019, when it voted to strip then-Rep. Steve King (R-IA) of committee assignments following his endorsement of white supremacy and his long legacy of anti-Semitic and racist remarks.
The signatories stressed that “the same standard should be applied to Representatives Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Madison Cawthorn (R-NC),” considering that during their recent campaigns, they openly promoted QAnon ideologies through several actions detailed in the missive or otherwise promoted white supremacist ideology.
Please click here to read the full letter.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Claudia Montecinos at [email protected].