Jun 18, 2020 - Politics & Policy

GOP senator blocks bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Thursday blocked an attempt by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to pass a bill via unanimous consent that would require the removal of Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall collection, stating: "I'd certainly like to have some time to decide if we should have a hearing on this."

Why it matters: There are at least 11 statues of Confederate leaders and generals currently inside the collection. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked Joint Committee on the Library to remove the statues, claiming they "pay homage to hate, not heritage."

What they're saying: Blunt, the chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, said that the law allows state to decide which two statues of prominent citizens it will send to the Capitol, and that this bill would "have the effect of abandoning agreements that we have entered into with the states."

  • "The state would have to pass legislation. The governor would have to sign it to put a statue in the building. The Congress would only determine if the statue met the requirements that the other statues had been held to. And up until now that's been the congressional part of this agreement with the states. 
  • "Now, we can do away with that program. We could do a lot of things. But we've entered into that agreement."

Worth noting: Blunt said that it would be "absolutely appropriate" to review the names of U.S. military installations named after Confederate leaders, arguing that "we can do that all on our own."

Go deeper: Pelosi orders removal of portraits of House speakers who served Confederacy

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Axios Events
Updated Aug 19, 2020 - Axios Events

Watch: A conversation on the future of the Democratic party

DNC week: On Wednesday, August 20 Axios co-founder Mike Allen hosted a conversation on the future of the Democratic Party, featuring Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), DNC Chair Tom Perez, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

Mayor Levar Stoney unpacked his efforts to remove confederate statues and monuments in Richmond and the racist historical legacy they represent.

  • On taking down confederate iconography: "We should be ashamed of these monuments. We should be ashamed of these symbols as Americans...I know in 2020 that my city is better than that. I know my state is better than that. And I definitely know that my country is better than that."

Sen. Cory Booker discussed the historic 2020 election ticket, his vision for how communities can expand their view of what makes safe neighborhoods, and how to maintain transparency and accountability in governance.

  • On the nomination of Sen. Kamala Harris as VP: "I think it's this feeling of affirmation that for the first time since the founding of this nation, I can look up at that historic ticket and see myself."
  • On rethinking community safety and situations where law enforcement gets involved: "We need to...treat mental illness not with jail or prison, but with help and health care. Those kinds of things ultimately reduce violence, make us safe, safer, but more importantly, elevate human well-being and human flourishing."

Gov. Phil Murphy broke down New Jersey's COVID-19 response and highlighted which successful efforts could be replicated by other states.

  • On his advice for other state governments: "I think history will not judge you harshly if you overcorrect, if you are too aggressive with this virus. I think we will all be judged, on the other hand, very harshly if you under-correct, if you underestimated."

Tom Perez stressed the importance of getting out the vote for the fall election and discussed the efforts undertaken by the Democratic party to uphold voting rights.

  • On the Democratic party's voter protection efforts: "We've never had a more robust voter protection operation than we do now...The reason for this is that Donald Trump has been very, very clear — [he's] going to try to make it harder for eligible people to vote. [The Trump campaign] doesn't want everyone to vote. They want less people to vote. That's their only formula for success: suppressing the vote."
  • On the 2020 election and the historic Democratic ticket: "This is history-making. And so many levels, shattering the gender glass ceiling, shattering the racial glass ceiling...This is historic, but it will be only a historical footnote unless we win."

Thank you Bank of America for sponsoring this event.

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Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty

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The big picture: This is the first time in U.S. presidential history that climate change was a featured issue at a debate. It signals how the problem has become part of the fabric of our society. More extreme weather, like the wildfires ravaging Colorado, is pushing the topic to the front-burner.

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