Dem-led House formally condemns Trump remarks deemed ‘racist,’ after dramatic floor fight over Pelosi

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday evening condemning President Trump’s “racist” remarks this weekend — although the moment was largely overshadowed by a dramatic floor fight earlier in the day that ended with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ruled out of order for a breach of decorum.

The unexpected mayhem in Congress, which briefly resulted in the revocation of Pelosi’s speaking privileges on the House floor, left commentators and lawmakers stunned. “So, Democrats vote to break House rules and decorum, so that they can call Trump out on decorum. Surreal,” wrote Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel.

The final resolution, entitled “H. Res. 489 — Condemning President Trump’s racist comments directed at Members of Congress,” passed by a vote of 240-187. All Democrats voted yea, with a handful of Republicans joining them: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Will Hurd, Fred Upton and Susan Brooks.

Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who recently left the Republican Party after calling for Trump’s impeachment, also voted yes. The rest of the Republicans voted no.

The resolution asserted that “President Donald Trump’s racist comments have legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.” The document mentioned Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, and quoted luminaries such as Benjamin Franklin, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President John Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan.

But, what Democrat leaders envisioned as a moment of Democrat unity turned out to be a striking display of disarray. As Pelosi spoke in favor of the resolution on the floor, she used frank and unsparing terms about Trump’s comments — and soon became the story herself.

Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins rose to challenge her and demand that her words be “taken down.” The extraordinary rebuke was the first of its kind involving a member of Congress and a speaker of the House in decades.

Fox News is told Collins used House Rule XVII, Clause 1(B). That rule requires that remarks on the floor “be confined to the question under debate, avoiding personality.”

“The chair will remind all members, please, please, do not make personality-based comments,” the chair, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., responded.

Collins then repeated his request to strike Pelosi’s comments. For more than 30 minutes after Collins’ objection, House members were huddled with the parliamentarian, Thomas J. Wickham Jr., to determine next steps.

As the consultation dragged on, Pelosi then appeared to leave the House floor, which itself constituted a violation of House Rules when someone’s words were taken down. Members are supposed to be seated on the floor when a member’s words are stricken.

Cleaver simply declared, “I abandon the chair,” and left — a moment with no apparent precedent in modern congressional history. North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield, also a Democrat, assumed the chair, before Hoyer took the reins.

Hoyer eventually assumed the chair upon Pelosi’s request so that a Democrat leader, and not a rank-and-file member, could take control. Hoyer eventually read the parliamentarian’s ruling that, based on the precedent “of May 15, 1984,” Pelosi’s language did not meet the standard.

“The words used by the gentlewoman from California contained an accusation of racist behavior on the part of the President,” Hoyer said, affirming the House parliamentarian’s decision and technically banning Pelosi from speaking on the House floor for the rest of the day.

More From FoxNews: