By Jeffery Martin
Iowa Congressman Steve King (click here) told a forum Tuesday night that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy would be allowed back into the committees he was removed from after his controversial comments were made public in 2019. However, other GOP lawmakers have made it clear that King should not be reinstated.
King's committee assignments were taken away after he made statements that aligned with white supremacist beliefs. He was removed after an interview with The New York Times in which he asked, "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive?"
"Kevin McCarthy and I reached an agreement that he would advocate to the steering committee to put all of my committees back, all of my seniority," King said. When the steering committee reconvenes at the next session of Congress, King added, "I have Kevin McCarthy's word that that will be my time for exoneration."...
Heading into the 2020 election season, (click here) a new Pew Research Center survey delves into the relationship between religion and politics, including perceptions about President Donald Trump among white evangelical Protestants, a key part of his electoral base. It finds that white evangelicals largely see Trump as fighting for their beliefs and advancing their interests, and they feel their side generally has been winning recently on political matters important to them. But when it comes to Trump’s personal qualities and conduct, many express mixed feelings. Even among this strongly supportive constituency, most do not view Trump as a very religious, honest or morally upstanding person (though many white evangelicals say he is somewhat religious, fairly honest or fairly morally upstanding)....
