House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to the chairs of the Joint Committee on the Library on Wednesday requesting that the panel remove 11 Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall collection.
The latest: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the vice chair of the Joint Committee on the Library, responded in a statement that she agrees that "these symbols of cruelty and bigotry" be "expediently" removed from the halls of the Capitol.
- Committee chairman Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said in a statement Thursday: “Under the law, each state decides which two statues it will send to the Capitol. Several states have moved toward replacing statues and others appear headed in the same direction. This process is ongoing and encouraging.
- "As Speaker Pelosi is undoubtedly aware, the law does not permit the Architect of the Capitol or the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library to remove a statue from the Capitol once it has been received.”
Why it matters: Pelosi's request comes as Black Lives Matter protests have sparked the removal of Confederate monuments across the nation and renewed a debate about the place of Confederate iconography in U.S. institutions. President Trump said earlier Wednesday that he would "not even consider" renaming military bases named for Confederate leaders.
What they're saying:
