Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) was the target of a censure resolution offered by the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus for a controversial post he posted on X about Haitians that Democrats are slamming as “racist” and “vile” rhetoric.
Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (D-NV) introduced a censure resolution on Wednesday regarding Higgins’s post as privileged, meaning House leadership has two legislative days to make a decision. With the House now in recess until after the 2024 election, it is likely Horsford’s resolution will not be dealt with until November.
“These words, on an official post, do not reflect credibly on the House,” Horsford said on the House floor. “In fact, they are inciting hate. They are inciting fear, and because of that, it is time for this body to stand with one voice and to ensure there is accountability.”
Higgins’s post featured a clip of an Associated Press report that a Haitian advocacy group in Springfield, Ohio, filed citizen criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) for comments alleging that Haitian immigrants are eating neighborhood pets as they amplify rhetoric related to the southern border crisis.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP. All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th,” Higgins wrote in a since-deleted post to X.
Higgins, a Freedom Caucus member, told reporters he took the post down “because I’m a gentleman and people freak out too easily.” He said a “young lady” came to him on the floor “very sincere” and said the post hurt her.
He added that he wanted to “pray about it” before he ultimately decided to take it down.
“It’s not a big deal to me, like something stuck to the bottom of my boot,” the Louisiana Republican said. “Just scrape it off and move on with my life. If you want to focus on it, go ahead.”
Horsford told reporters that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), the only Haitian American in Congress, went to Higgins to explain her feelings about his rhetoric.
“He didn’t, in my view, show any remorse, didn’t understand how his rhetoric is contributing to the feeling of people being harassed and threatened and feeling unsafe in their own communities,” Horsford said.
Horsford added that Higgins “told me no” when he asked him to take the post down, but after Republicans like Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) approached him, he “changed his mind.”
“We had a very productive conversation. … I thought the statement was — was not a good statement,” Donalds told reporters. “You know, he listened to me on that. He came back — maybe, I think that’s a credit to him, to have a conversation with members on the floor and then, you know, I think we can make the appropriate decision.”
Horsford had originally asked for unanimous content after the House finished voting to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee, receiving applause from several Democrats. However, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA), serving in the speaker’s chair, initially argued Horsford was not presenting a valid motion because he did not draft a physical resolution. He said the chairman was “out of order.”
“At what time would it be in order?” Horsford responded. “There’s children who are feeling threatened in this moment, based on the actions of the member from Louisiana.”
Higgins came back later to the floor after drafting a resolution to introduce it.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) similarly told reporters that Higgins was approached by a group of lawmakers on the House floor.
“He went to the back — I just talked to him about it — he said he went to the back and he prayed about it, and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down,” Johnson said. “That’s what you want the gentleman to do. I’m sure he probably regrets the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here.”
In response to Johnson and Republicans calling for people to move on, Horsford told reporters that “the effect and the impact” of the tweet is “not taken away.” He called Higgins’s rhetoric “vile” and divisive.
“It needs to stop,” Horsford told reporters after he introduced the resolution. “We have to explore, sadly, every action possible, and this one that, you know, we have available to us, because it does violate the rules of the House.”
Other House members have come out with statements regarding Higgins’s post. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called the post “disgusting … vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the United States House of Representatives” in a statement.
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Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), while not addressing Higgins’s comments specifically, emphasized his support of the Haitian community as he has done since Vance and Trump began amplifying the Springfield claims.
“The Haitian people are good and honorable people, who contribute greatly to our country,” Lawler said. “As a Representative of one of the largest Haitian diaspora in the country, I know this first hand. No one should attack or disparage them. Let’s do better.”
