The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Wednesday called for Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) to be censured for a since-deleted social media post criticizing Haitian migrants as “thugs.”
CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and other Democrats took to the House floor to call for a censure in an extensive and at times heated back-and-forth with Republicans. Horsford moved to force a vote on the matter within two legislative days.
“I hope that every member of this body understands that no person, particularly those who contribute to communities — who are entrepreneurial, who give to our communities by being nurses and first responders and teachers — that those individuals, those children, no longer have to live in fear or intimidation because of any words or quotes to come from members of this body,” Horsford said on the House floor.
Higgins got significant backlash for the social media post pushing the false narrative that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating their neighbors’ pets.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP,” Higgins posted. “All these thugs better get their mind right and their a– out of our country before January 20th.”
Horsford and other members of the CBC confronted Higgins over the post on the House floor.
Horsford on Wednesday moved to force a vote on his censure resolution, arguing that Higgins used official equipment of the House of Representatives to incite fear and hate, disobeying the House’s code of conduct.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) objected, noting Higgins had already deleted the post.
“If I need to go through all the tweets from the other side I am happy to,” Scalise said over the sound of Democrats booing.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters that Higgins said he regretted the post.
“He was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive,” Johnson said.
“He said he went to the back and he prayed about it, and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down,” Johnson continued. “I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around him.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, characterized Higgins’s remarks as “disgusting and dangerous” and suggested that House GOP leaders should strip the Louisiana Republican of his seat on the bipartisan taskforce investigating the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
“It’s questionable as to why someone so irresponsible like Clay Higgins could be put on a serious taskforce that is investigating the work of the Secret Service in terms of protecting candidates for the presidency, and current office-holders,” Jeffries told reporters just off the House floor. “Perhaps that’s something that House Republican leadership should reevaluate.”
Jeffries also left open the possibility that the Ethics Committee might investigate the episode, though he stopped short of calling for such a probe immediately.
“That remains to be seen,” he said.
Higgins did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
The narrative around Haitian migrants was first pushed by former President Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Trump repeated the false claim during the presidential debate.
City officials have dismissed the allegations, but schools as well as city hall have faced more than 30 bomb threats since Springfield has been thrust into the national spotlight.
Mychael Schnell and Mike Lillis contributed to this article. Updated at 6:10 p.m.