White House condemns Steve King ‘white supremacy’ comments as ‘abhorrent’

The White House has condemned embattled Republican Representative Steve King for questioning why terms like “white supremacy” and “white nationalist” have become offensive.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the comments from Mr King, a politician from Iowa known for a history of controversial remarks over race and immigration were “outrageous” and “inappropriate”.

“Steve King’s comments were abhorrent,” Ms Sanders told reporters outside of the White House.

She then used the scandal involving a Republican congressman to criticise Democrats: “The Republican leadership, unlike [the] Democrats, have actually taken action when their members have said outrageous and inappropriate things”.

Ms Sanders’ condemnation follows after several top Republicans condemned Mr King’s remarks, including House Republican Conference chairwoman Liz Cheney, who has called for his resignation.

Mr King has also been stripped of his committee assignments by the House Republican leadership.

“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” Mr King said during an interview with The New York Times last week.

Mr King, who has a history of contentious remarks disparaging minorities and was elected to a ninth term in November, said that the decision by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to suggest he lose his committee assignments “ignores the truth”.

“Leader McCarthy’s decision to remove me from committees is a political decision that ignores the truth. . . . Ultimately, I told him, ‘You have to do what you have to do, and I will do what I have to do’”, Mr King said.

Mr King supported a House vote over a resolution comdemning white nationalism and white supremacy, which referenced Mr King's comments. He did not respond to reporter questions after the vote.