The House voted 310-58 to condemn Charlie Kirk’s assassination, honor his legacy and denounce political violence.
58 Democrats, including Jasmine Crockett, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, voted against the resolution on honoring Charlie Kirk’s life and condemning his assassination. Indian-origin Ro Khanna ‘present’ for the resolution. MAGA slammed the Democrats and called the massive voting against the simple resolution ‘insane’. 310 votes were in favor of the motion.Fifty-eight Democrats opposed the resolution; another 38 voted present and 22 didn’t vote at all. A five-page resolution, introduced by the House speaker, Mike Johnson, and co-sponsored by 165 House Republicans but no Democrats, praised Kirk as a “courageous American patriot” who sought to “elevate truth, foster understanding, and strengthen the Republic”.“It would be it would be great for the country if Republicans and Democrats could stand together to call out political violence,” Johnson said before the vote.Axios earlier reported that the House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting Thursday morning that the leadership would vote for the resolution but his team was not whipping the vote and hence lawmakers were free to decide for themselves. The political faultline over Kirk is wife as the Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, has now been criticized by a handful of Republicans after he pressured ABC to suspend the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over comments about Kirk’s killing. Donald Trump refused that Kimmel’s suspension had anything to do with Kirk and said Kimmel was suspended because he had bad ratings. “Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else,” Trump said. “And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”The resolution passed Friday eulogized Charlie Kirk, a close ally of Trump and founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, as a “courageous American patriot” who “boldly lived out his faith with conviction, courage, and compassion.” It asserts he “worked tirelessly to promote unity without compromising on conviction.”It called the assassination “a sobering reminder of the growing threat posed by political extremism and hatred in our society,” saying “leaders at every level—government, education, media, and beyond—must stand united in unequivocal condemnation of political violence.”The resolution resolved that the House condemns Kirk’s assassination “and all forms of political violence”; commends law enforcement and emergency personnel for efforts in finding Kirk’s suspected shooter; and extends condolences to Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk and his two children.It “honors the life, leadership, and legacy of Charlie Kirk, whose steadfast dedication to the Constitution, civil discourse, and Biblical truth inspired a generation to cherish and defend the blessings of liberty” and “calls upon all Americans—regardless of race, party affiliation, or creed—to reject political violence, recommit to respectful debate, uphold American values, and respect one another as fellow Americans.”
