At least 169 members of Congress led by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) have signed a letter calling on Donald Trump to rescind the appointment of racist, homophobic, misogynist anti-Semite, admitted white nationalist Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist.
Says the letter, in part:
“Since the election there have been a number of incidents across the country in which minorities, including Muslim Americans, African Americans, and Jewish Americans, have been the targets of violence, harassment and intimidation. Mr. Bannon's appointment sends the wrong message to people who have engaged in those types of activities, indicating that they will not only be tolerated, but endorsed by your Administration. Millions of Americans have expressed fear and concern about how they will be treated by the Trump Administration and your appointment of Mr. Bannon only exacerbates and validates their concerns.”
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley has already called for a dramatic course correction, citing “a wave of verbal and physical assaults” against Americans in the wake of Trump's election.
“We call on President-elect Trump to exclude the proponents of discrimination and hatred from the ranks of his administration, and that includes immediately firing Steve Bannon as his chief strategist,” said Merkley, who convened a news conference with two additional Senate Democrats and their soon-to-be colleague, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, and later sent an email solicitation to supporters asking them to sign a petition.
“Quite frankly,” Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono said, “it's sad that we are having a debate about whether a white supremacist should serve as a senior counselor to the president-elect.”
Read the full letter below:
BREAKING: Rep Cicilline leads 169 Members of Congress asking @realDonaldTrump to rescind White House appointment of Steve Bannon. pic.twitter.com/QZhZbvYAXs
— Congressman David N. Cicilline (@RepCicilline) November 16, 2016
