Rep. Steven Horsford calls for GOP lawmaker Clay Higgins’ censure over racist tweet ‘inciting hate’
Rep. Steven Horsford (left) has spoken out about Rep. Clay Higgins’ (right) since-deleted tweet. (Getty)
US Representative Steven Horsford has called for GOP lawmaker Clay Higgins to be censured over a racist tweet which Horsford said “incited hate”.
On 25 September, US Representative Higgins deleted a social media post which called Haitians “wild” after receiving backlash from congressional colleagues. Horsford, who has represented Nevada since 2019, urged that Higgins be criticised on the House floor.
Higgins wrote on X via his official congressional account in the since-deleted post: “Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangster … but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP. All these thugs better get their mind right and their a** out of our country before January 20th.”
The lawmaker posted a screenshot of a news story about a Haitian group that filed charges against former President Donald Trump and Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance after Trump spread false claims about legal migrants in Springfield, Ohio.
Higgins deleted the post the same day after several fellow lawmakers raised concerns on the House floor. Rep. Byron Donalds said at the time: “I told him my thoughts. I thought it was not a good statement. I thought he should take it down, and we just talked it through, and he went ahead and did that, and that’s to his credit.”
However, Horsford, who is also chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, took to the House floor to denounce Higgins’ post. He called for the House Ethics Committee to investigate the matter and demand his formal reprimand on the House floor.
Horsford said: “These words on an official post do not reflect credibly on the House. In fact, they are inciting hate. They are inciting fear. And because of that it is time for this body to stand with one voice and to ensure that there’s accountability.”
However, other Republicans reportedly said that Higgins followed protocol by deleting the post.
Speaker Mike Johnson said: “He prayed about it, and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down. That’s what you want the gentleman to do. I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward.”
PinkNews has contacted a representative of Rep. Clay Higgins for a comment on the matter.
