Ever eager to finish the Civil War once and for all, the Democratic-led House voted on July 22 to remove statues of Confederate leaders from the Capitol.
Specifically, the bill demands the removal of at least 10 statues that infiltrated the National Statuary Hall Collection and turned it into a stronghold for the Confederacy.
The bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 305-113, the New York Post reports.
Confederates to be expelled from the hall include Gen. Robert E. Lee along with Jefferson Davis, president of the rebellious states, and his vice president Alexander Stephens.
The critically important maneuver also takes aim at statues of men who defended slavery, segregation and white supremacy, including former Vice President John C. Calhoun. A 2-foot-high marble bust of Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney — who authored of the 1857 Dred Scott decision declaring blacks couldn’t be American citizens — would also be removed.
All of the men depicted in the statues are long dead, and are figures in American history.
“Defenders and purveyors of sedition, slavery, segregation and white supremacy have no place in this temple of liberty,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer thundered at a news conference, of the long-dead men.
The House vote comes amid a nationwide temper tantrum about statues and monuments among liberal Democrats angry at being out of power with a weak presidential candidate going into this fall’s election.
If the legislation passes both chambers, however, it will need the signature of President Trump, who has opposed the removal of historic statues and the renaming of military bases named for Confederate officers.
