GOP Sen. Tim Scott writes op-ed criticizing Republicans for silence on racism
By Grace Segers
/ CBS News
GOP Sen. Tim Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, responded to Rep. Steve King's controversial comments about white nationalism in an opinion piece in the Washington Post, saying that Republicans are accused of racism because they stay silent when people in the party make racist remarks.
King wondered to the New York Times this week: "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?" King has a long history of making racist remarks and interacting with known white nationalists. Scott noted in his piece that white supremacism had resulted in violence and death not only in the past, but also recently, with the murder of two black people in Kentucky by a white supremacist and the violence of the Charlottesville protests.
"When people with opinions similar to King's open their mouths, they damage not only the Republican Party and the conservative brand but also our nation as a whole," Scott said. "Some in our party wonder why Republicans are constantly accused of racism — it is because of our silence when things like this are said."
Scott argued that Republicans were accused of racism on immigration issues because of refusing to take action against comments like King's. He said that as a Republican, he supported border security "not because I want to keep certain ethnicities out of our nation, but because I support enforcing our laws."
"It is tempting to write King — or other extremists on race issues, such as black-nationalist Louis Farrakhan — as lonely voices in the wilderness, but they are far more dangerous than that," Scott wrote. "They continue to rip at the fabric of our nation, a country built on hope, strength and diversity."
King responded to the Times article on the House floor Friday. He did not apologize for his statements — just for the problems they had caused.
"I regret the heartburn that has poured forth upon this Congress and this country and especially in my state and in my congressional district," King said.
Republicans widely condemned King's words this week, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney. However, no House Republicans said they would take action in response to King's remarks.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush wrote on Twitter that "Republican leaders must actively support a worthy primary opponent to defeat King, because he won't have the decency to resign."
Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra announced this week that he was launching a primary challenge against King.
First published on January 11, 2019
© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Grace Segers
Grace Segers is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital.
Driver crashes car doing "Bird Box challenge"
The driver was blindfolded while driving – "predictable result," the police department tweeted
updated 0M ago 
GOP Sen. Tim Scott slams Republicans for silence on racism
Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, was responding to comments Rep. Steve King made about white nationalism
updated 9M ago 
Trump holds border security roundtable — live updates
The president is threatening to declare a national emergency to fund his border wall
updated 0M ago 
Thousands of migrants in legal limbo amid multi-year court delays
The cases will be added to a record-high backlog of over 800,000 immigration cases
updated 56M ago 
"Baby's turning blue!": 911 call reveals moments vegetative patient gives birth
A patient at a long-term care facility gave birth in December, even though she had been in a vegetative state for a decade
updated 9M ago 
GOP Sen. Tim Scott slams Republicans for silence on racism
Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, was responding to comments Rep. Steve King made about white nationalism
updated 9M ago
Trump holds border security roundtable — live updates
The president is threatening to declare a national emergency to fund his border wall
updated 0M ago
Thousands of migrants in legal limbo amid multi-year court delays
The cases will be added to a record-high backlog of over 800,000 immigration cases
updated 56M ago 
Shutdown could hit federal workers' credit scores
Federal workers are scrimping to avoid being dinged by lenders for missing payments and damaging their credit scores
updated 32M ago 
Local Texas GOP approves Muslim vice chairman after controversy
Republicans in one of the most populous counties in Texas have voted to support a Muslim doctor as a party vice chairman
1H ago 
Tributes pour after tearful Andy Murray announces retirement
"The pain is too much, really, and I don't want to continue playing that way," the tennis champion said at a press conference.
1H ago 
U.S. lawyers "paying attention" as female Saudi activist due in court
Human rights activist Israa al-Ghomgham could be the 1st woman ever sentenced to death for nonviolent protest in Saudi Arabia
1H ago 
Poland arrests Chinese businessman on spy charges
Internal Security Agency detains 1 Polish along with man reported to be an executive of telecom giant Huawei
6H ago 
U.S. Syria withdrawal officially underway, expected to take 3-4 months
Small convoy reportedly pulls out amid confusion over Trump administration's plans, and intense pressure from Turkey
4H ago 
Myanmar rejects appeal of jailed journalists who claim set-up
Court upholds 2 Reuters journalists' widely condemned 7-year sentences, renewing doubts over Aung San Suu Kyi's "commitment" to democracy
10H ago 
Behind the scenes: Making of "Hamilton" in Puerto Rico
The performances are part of a three-week run to raise money and awareness for the U.S. territory after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017
1H ago 
"Criminal Minds" ending after season 15
"A moment of silence please," one fan tweeted after hearing the news
2H ago 
Lin-Manuel Miranda: Puerto Rico needs "debt forgiveness" to recover
The "Hamilton" creator said the storm-battered island needs more investment from Congress
1H ago 
Lin-Manuel Miranda's 8th grade teacher brings him to tears
"Dr. Herbert's the reason I'm sitting here talking to you," star of "Hamilton" says
4H ago 
R. Kelly's estranged daughter speaks out
"The same monster you all confronting me about is my father… I grew up in that house," Buku Abi wrote in a long Instagram message
5H ago 
SpaceX launches final set of Iridium satellites
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes off with a final set of 10 Iridium NEXT communications satellites
2H ago 
Lawmakers demand answers from data providers over sale of location data
A report finds T-Mobile and other providers sold data to third parties
19H ago 
Emissions rise despite support for green energy
Most Americans say they support renewable energy, but what will it take to get there?
19H ago 
Senator wants law that could jail tech execs for tracking users' location
The proposal comes as the makers of the Weather Channel app are accused of marketing the locations of its users without their knowledge
Jan 10 
101-year-old inventor has plan to battle climate change
Charlie Bliss and his 81-year-old business partner are known as the thermodynamics duo
Jan 9 
Want to prevent deadly diseases? Eat more fiber, study says
A new report shows that lots of grains, vegetables and fruit lowers your risk of dying early from heart disease, cancer, and other deadly diseases
1H ago 
More than 6 million have gotten flu so far this season
The CDC has released its first estimates for this year's flu season
updated 44M ago 
Norovirus outbreak sickens hundreds on cruise ship
Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas is returning to a Florida port a day early after guests and crew members were hit with an outbreak of norovirus
6H ago 
Starbucks to install needle-disposal boxes in some bathrooms
Move follows complaints by workers worried about potential health risks of cleaning up after drug users
Jan 10 
Patients-turned-friends receive historic triple transplants
Both needed a procedure so rare it had only been done 15 times in U.S. history
Jan 10 
Shutdown could hit federal workers' credit scores
Federal workers are scrimping to avoid being dinged by lenders for missing payments and damaging their credit scores
updated 32M ago 
Stock markets pause five-day winning streak
Investors have been buoyed this week by signs of a U.S.-China thaw and a dovish turn by the Federal Reserve
4H ago 
A “do-over” chance for Medicare open enrollment
You have until March 31 to change your choice of Medicare Advantage plan or switch to original Medicare
5H ago
Poland arrests Chinese businessman on spy charges
Internal Security Agency detains 1 Polish along with man reported to be an executive of telecom giant Huawei
6H ago 
Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.6M vehicles over dangerous air bags
Inflators made Japan's Takata can explode with too much force and have killed at least 23 people
19H ago 
"Baby's turning blue!": 911 call reveals moments vegetative patient gives birth
A patient at a long-term care facility gave birth in December, even though she had been in a vegetative state for a decade
updated 9M ago 
Jayme Closs kidnap suspect concealed his identity, police say
Alleged captor of 13-year-old Jayme Closs identified as 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson
updated 40M ago 
Body found in search for baby after staged abduction, affidavit says
Police in San Antonio previously said the family of King Jay Davila faked his abduction to cover up foul play
3H ago 
Rescued girl was target in abduction that left parents dead, police say
Jayme Closs found alive after disappearing the day her parents were murdered in October
updated 43M ago 
Missing teen found in men's shoes 3 months after parents murdered
The nearly three-month long search for the missing 13-year-old is over as the mystery over what happened to her and her parents deepens
4H ago Original Article
