H.Res. 53House116th Congress (2019-2021)In Committee

Raising a question of the privileges of the House.

Introduced January 16, 2019

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 14, 2026 at 12:29 AM UTC

The resolution seeks to formally censure Representative Steve King of Iowa for a series of statements that the House views as racist and xenophobic. It would record the House’s disapproval, require the member to appear before the chamber, and have the censure read publicly. The action would affect only Representative King but serves as a statement of the House’s standards for member conduct.

Key Provisions

  • The House would issue a formal censure of Representative Steve King for his conduct.
  • The resolution requires Representative King to appear in the well of the House to receive the censure.
  • The censure would be publicly read by the Speaker of the House.

Legislative Activity

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4 earlier actions
HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Ethics.

January 16, 2019

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

January 16, 2019

HouseFloor

Mr. Hoyer moved to refer to Ethics.

January 16, 2019 • 6:07 PM

HouseFloor

The previous question on the motion to refer was ordered without objection.

January 16, 2019 • 6:08 PM

HouseFloor

On motion to refer Agreed to by voice vote.

January 16, 2019 • 6:08 PM

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Ethics.

January 16, 2019

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about H.Res. 53 on the floor

2 Democrats
Steny H. Hoyer
Rep. Steny H. HoyerD-MD-5 · Jan 16, 2019

Madam Speaker, I have a motion at the desk. Madam Speaker, I am moving to refer this resolution to the Committee on Ethics. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous…

Bobby L. Rush
Rep. Bobby L. RushD-IL-1 · Jan 16, 2019

Madam Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the House and offer a resolution previously noticed.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued January 16, 2019

IV

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 53

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 16, 2019

Mr. Rush submitted the following resolution

January 16, 2019

By motion of the House, referred to the Committee on Ethics

RESOLUTION

Raising a question of the privileges of the House.

Whereas the United States has always been a proud multicultural Nation;

Whereas since early in our history our Nation has recognized the strength that our diversity brings by making our national motto E Pluribus Unum;

Whereas on July 13, 2006, on the floor of the House of Representatives, comparing immigrants to livestock, Representative Steve King of Iowa stated, We could also electrify this wire with the kind of current that would not kill somebody, but it would simply be a discouragement for them to be fooling around with it. We do that with livestock all the time.;

Whereas on March 8, 2008, in an interview with KICD Studios, Representative King stated, I don’t want to disparage anyone because of their race, their ethnicity, their name—whatever their religion their father might have been … I’ll just say this: When you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected President of the United States—I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam?;

Whereas on May 21, 2012, while speaking with constituents in Pocahontas, Iowa, Representative King compared vetting immigrants to choosing hunting dogs saying, You want a good bird dog? You want one that’s going to be aggressive? Pick the one that’s the friskiest.;

Whereas in July 2012, at a tele-townhall, on President Barack Obama’s place of birth, Representative King stated, It would have been awfully hard to fraudulently file the birth notice of Barack Obama being born in Hawaii and get that into our public libraries and that microfiche they keep of all the newspapers published. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some other explanations on how they might’ve announced that by telegram from Kenya. The list goes on. But drilling into that now, even if we could get a definitive answer and even if it turned out that Barack Obama was conclusively not born in America, I don’t think we could get that case sold between now and November.;

Whereas on January 4, 2013, in a press release announcing the introduction of his bill, H.R. 140, Representative King stated, The current practice of extending U.S. citizenship to hundreds of thousands of anchor babies must end because it creates a magnet for illegal immigration into our country. Now is the time to ensure that the laws in this country do not encourage law breaking.;

Whereas on July 24, 2014, in an interview with Newsmax discussing undocumented immigrants in the United States, Representative King stated, For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds—and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.;

Whereas on July 20, 2016, in an interview with The Washington Post, Representative King stated, The idea of multiculturalism, that every culture is equal—that’s not objectively true.;

Whereas on July 18, 2016, in an appearance on MSNBC, Representative King stated, Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization [than White people]?;

Whereas on September 18, 2016, on Twitter, Representative King stated, that Cultural suicide by demographic transformation must end.;

Whereas on March 12, 2017, on Twitter, Representative King shared a story about far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders and added, We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.;

Whereas on March 13, 2017, on CNN, Representative King stated, I’d like to see an America that’s just so homogenous that we look a lot the same and There’s been this effort, we’re going to have to replace that void with somebody else’s babies. That’s the push to bring in [so] much illegal immigration into America, living in enclaves, refusing to assimilate into the American culture and civilization.;

Whereas on June 12, 2018, Representative King retweeted Mark Collett, a self-described Nazi sympathizer;

Whereas on September 2, 2018, in an interview with Unzensuriert, a publication linked to a fascist Austrian political party, Representative King stated, What does this diversity bring that we don’t already have? Mexican food, Chinese food, those things—well, that’s fine. But what does it bring that we don’t have that is worth the price? We have a lot of diversity within the U.S. already.;

Whereas on January 10, 2019, in the New York Times, Representative King stated White nationalist, White supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive?;

Whereas Representative King’s statements have drawn praise from known White supremacists like former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke;

Whereas Representative King dishonors not only immigrants but every American with his racist and xenophobic rhetoric; and

Whereas Representative King has failed to retract his statement and apologize to the Members of the House or Americans across the country: Now, therefore, be it

That—

(1)

Representative Steve King of Iowa, by his despicable conduct, has dishonored himself and brought discredit to the House and merits the censure of the House for the same;

(2)

Representative Steve King of Iowa be censured;

(3)

Representative Steve King of Iowa forthwith present himself in the well of the House of Representatives for the pronouncement of censure; and

(4)

Representative Steve King of Iowa be censured with the public reading of this resolution by the Speaker.