DOJ/RACISM/TERRORISM: “Days after neo-Nazis and white nationalists led a deadly march through Charlottesville — and are beginning to organize again — Republican leaders in Congress appear to be in no hurry to tackle the issue beyond statements of condemnation.
Many GOP lawmakers called Saturday’s [8-12-17] march and the killing of a 32-year-old woman an act of ‘domestic terrorism.’ And dozens of members took issue Tuesday with President Donald Trump’s claim that ‘both sides’ were to blame for violence.
But there was little urgency for congressional action among committee leaders and top GOP brass.
Despite House Democrats’ calls for hearings on the rise of white supremacy, the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Department of Justice’s handling of domestic terrorism, has no immediate plans to schedule one, aides say. The House Homeland Security Committee is lumping the issue into an annual ‘global threats’ hearing scheduled sometime in September. And while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has suggested hearings in the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has no plans to call for one focused on the events in Charlottesville.
GOP leaders, meanwhile, aren’t leaning on their allies to hold public sessions or launch inquiries. Speaker Paul Ryan’s office deferred questions on potential congressional action to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and would not say whether the speaker believes action is warranted. McCarthy has been out of the country but intends to discuss the matter with panel chairmen. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office indicated that it’s up to individual committee chairs to set their own hearing schedule.
In the meantime, Democrats are beginning to seize on inaction to squeeze their GOP counterparts. They’re trying to put more daylight between congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump, who’s been widely criticized over his response to the Charlottesville riot.”
-Kyle Cheney and Rachel Bade, “GOP chairmen resist hearings on white supremacy,” Politico, Aug. 15, 2017 06:34pm