DEMS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Sen. Cory Booker plans to introduce a bill to remove statues from the US Capitol honoring Confederate soldiers despite President Donald Trump calling these memorials ‘beautiful.’
‘I will be introducing a bill to remove Confederate statues from the US Capitol building. This is just one step. We have much work to do,’ the New Jersey Democrat tweeted Wednesday [8-16-17].
There are at least 10 Confederate statues in the Capitol, distributed between the Hall of Columns, the Capitol Visitor Center and other locations, most notably Statuary Hall, where each state chooses two statues to be on display.
When asked about the inclusion of Confederate statues in the Capitol, Doug Andres, a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan said ‘These are decisions for those states to make.’ CNN has also reached out to the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and has not yet received a response.
Booker’s communications director said that the senator will introduce the bill after Labor Day, as the Senate is currently on recess.
As a growing number of American cities work to remove statues commemorating the Confederacy, Trump defended the statues again Thursday, arguing that removing them uproots American ‘culture’ and history.”
-Eugene Scott, “There are Confederate statues on Capitol Hill. Cory Booker has a bill that removes them.,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Aug. 17, 2017 12:07pm