SHAFAQNA- House Democrats on Thursday voted down a GOP-backed resolution to condemn Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for ripping up President Trump’s State of the Union speech.
The measure was rejected in a 224 to 193 party-line vote. Independent Rep. Justin Amash voted with Democrats to table the resolution. Republicans introduced the resolution after Pelosi, in a dramatic move captured on camera, tore her copy of the President’s speech at the end of his annual address to Congress on Tuesday night. Earlier in the night, the President appeared to snub the House speaker by ignoring her attempt at a handshake.
Top Republicans have blasted Pelosi for shredding her copy of the speech immediately after Trump concluded his remarks on Tuesday evening before a joint session of Congress. GOP lawmakers have characterized her actions as “a breach of decorum” and accused her of disrespecting the guests the president honored at the annual event. Several Republicans, including House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (Wyo.), have called on Pelosi to apologize.
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) led the efforts on the privileged resolution that was later rejected by House Democrats. “Speaker Pelosi’s actions last night were appalling and shameful,” Granger said in a statement Wednesday. “Regardless of her personal feelings, she had a responsibility to conduct herself with civility as the presiding officer representing the House of Representatives. She is not the Speaker of the Democrats, but of the People’s House”, The Hill reported.
Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, responded in a statement: “It is sad to see a senior Member, respected on both sides of the aisle, have to kneel at the altar of Trump in order to win her primary,” he said. “That’s all this is about.” Granger is the top Republican on the House appropriations committee. Pelosi on Thursday defended her actions.
“I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,” she told reporters during her weekly press conference. “It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say, ‘This is not true. And this is how it affects you.’ And I don’t need any lessons from anyone, especially the president of the United States, about dignity.
According to CNN, Legal experts surveyed by Politifact say Pelosi’s shredding of the speech did not violate any records-keeping law. Hammill panned Gaetz’s effort as “a frivolous stunt from a Congressman desperate to get back in the President’s good graces after he voted with Democrats and against the President on Iran.” In her weekly press conference Thursday, Pelosi again slammed Trump’s address and defending ripping it up afterward.
“I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,” she said. “It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say, ‘This is not true. And this is how it affects you.’ And I don’t need any lessons from anyone, especially the President of the United States, about dignity.” Other Democratic leaders have defended the move; “As far as I’m concerned, a shredder wasn’t available, and so she did what she needed to do,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries.
The frosty exchanges between Pelosi and Trump Tuesday night marked unmistakable signs of the deteriorating relationship between the two leaders, who haven’t spoken in months. Pelosi confirmed to CNN before Trump’s speech Tuesday that she hadn’t spoken to the President since a meeting on Syria policy in October.