Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was expected to become the chair of the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee but was instead passed over for the role by the new Republican House leadership.
As previously reported by La Plaza, Somos Republicans, a group of Hispanic Republicans that was organized in response to Arizona’s SB 1070, strongly opposed his appointment as chair to the Republican Party’s Congressional leadership where he could oversee immigration legislation.
In the past, La Plaza has also brought to light King’s controversial statements in which he has, amongst other things, endorsed racial profiling and argued that one can identify undocumented by “grooming” and with a “sixth sense.”
This may have cost him the chairmanship position and has King blaming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, for his being passed over to head the subcommittee.
“The speaker holds the big gavel, and he decides who gets the other gavels,” King said in a recent interview. “It makes it very clear that it’s not a meritocracy.”
The chairmanship instead went to Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., while King was named the vice chairman.
“John Boehner isn’t very aggressive on immigration,” King went on to say. He targeted the GOP’s “Pledge to America” saying it makes scant mention of immigration.
King was the ranking Republican member on the subcommittee when Democrats were a majority in the House of Representatives, and as such was expected to take the helm.
“It’s the militant left,” King said. “And I don’t lose one second of sleep.”
Meanwhile, Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, came out in the House Speaker’s defense saying Boehner had nothing to do with the snub.
Recent Comments