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Capitol Hill's far right pushes Anglo-Saxon values, European architecture

17 April 2021
Dan Ackermann

Multiple far-right House Republicans have begun planning and promoting an America First Caucus aimed at pushing "uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions," Punchbowl News first reported.

The big picture: "The document was being circulated as the GOP is struggling to determine a clear direction as it prepares to try winning back control of the House and Senate in the 2022 elections," AP writes.

Details: The caucus, led byReps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), has distributed documents that say the group hopes to "follow in President Trump’s footsteps." The PDF that's been circulating adds that mass immigration has put the “unique identity” of the U.S. at risk.

  • In some of the most nakedly nativist rhetoric seen in the modern Congress, the document says: "The America First Caucus will work towards an infrastructure that reflects the architectural, engineering and aesthetic value that befits the progeny of European architecture."
  • The group focuses on different areas of policy — including immigration, education, foreign aid and election fraud — it says should "be re-examined from the ground up to ensure that what remains keeps the interest of Americans at heart."

Zoom out: Several House Republicans have come out against the group, with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeting that "[t]he Republican Party is the party of Lincoln & the party of more opportunity for all Americans — not nativist dog whistles."

  • Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tweeted: "We teach our children the values of tolerance, decency and moral courage. Racism, nativism, and anti-Semitism are evil. History teaches we all have an obligation to confront & reject such malicious hate."
  • Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted: "I believe anyone that joins this caucus should have their committees stripped, and the Republican conference should expel them from conference participation. While we can’t prevent someone from calling themselves Republican, we can loudly say they don’t belong to us."

Go deeper: Read the full 7-page document.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.