Senate

GOP senator breaks with Roy Moore over Muslims serving in Congress

by Jordain Carney - 10/30/17 7:16 PM ET

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Monday that he disagrees with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore’s previous criticism over letting Muslims serve in Congress

“I think just because you’re a member of a political party doesn’t mean you agree 100 percent. …So I would disagree with that statement and I dare say if you asked each one of the members up here, what they would feel about that, they would say the same thing,” Cornyn told reporters during a press conference, referring to several other GOP senators standing beside him.

The lawmakers were asked how they “square” their criticism of Democrats questioning Trump’s circuit court nominee, Amy Barrett, over her Catholic faith with their support for Moore given his previous suggestion that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim elected to the House, should be blocked from serving in Congress because of his religious beliefs.

{mosads}Cornyn announced his support for Moore, who is the GOP nominee for the Alabama Senate race after defeating Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) in the GOP primary, last week.

In 2006, Moore took issue with Ellison becoming the first Muslim elected to Congress, arguing that lawmakers can and should stop him from taking his oath of office.

”Enough evidence exists for Congress to question Ellison’s qualifications to be a member of Congress as well as his commitment to the Constitution in view of his apparent determination to embrace the Quran and an Islamic philosophy directly contrary to the principles of the Constitution,” Moore wrote at the time.

He added that “in 1943, we would never have allowed a member of Congress to take their oath on ‘Mein Kampf,’ or someone in the 1950s to swear allegiance to the ‘Communist Manifesto.”

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who is retiring after 2018, referenced the comment last week when he told reporters that he would not support Moore.

Tags Jeff Flake John Cornyn Keith Ellison Luther Strange