Censure Effort of Maxine Waters Fails After Democrats Table Resolution by McCarthy

We reported earlier that Republicans felt confident there was a possibility that U.S. House Rep Maxine Waters (D-CA) would be censured for her controversial comments to Minnesota protesters over the weekend urging them to “get more confrontational” if former police officer Derek Chauvin was found not guilty of the death George Floyd.

Prior to the reading of the verdict, those hopes were dashed as Democrats moved quickly to table the censure resolution introduced by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in a 216 to 210 party-line vote and avoided taking a vote directly on whether to formally reprimand Waters.

A censure would have been devastating for Waters, as she is the chairwoman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee and it would have stripped her of that title.

In a statement after his resolution failed, McCarthy said, “Speaker Pelosi, and every other House Democrat, had the opportunity to condemn the violent rhetoric of our colleague Representative Waters, a chairwoman and senior member of Congress, to protestors to ‘get more confrontational,'”

“Instead, they condoned it. And the House and our justice system are worse off because of it,” McCarthy added.

Speaker Pelosi, and every other House Democrat, had the opportunity to condemn the violent rhetoric of our colleague Representative Waters.

Instead, they condoned it.

And the House and our justice system are worse off because of it.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) April 20, 2021

As Fox News reported:

McCarthy’s two-page resolution, shared first with Fox News, quotes heavily from Waters’ own remarks on April 17 to protesters gathered outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Minnesota.

Waters said she wanted a “guilty verdict” and without one, demonstrators should “stay on the street” and “get more confrontational, we’ve got to make sure they know we mean business.”

McCarthy’s resolution also uses the quotes from the judge in the Chauvin trial who admonished Waters in court.

On Monday, Chauvin’s attorney asked for a mistrial in the case, citing Waters’ comments which were made before the jury was sequestered.