Rep. Steve King's colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, aren't sad to see the Iowa Republican leave the House after 18 years.
While Democrats have long denounced King over incendiary and what they call racist language, it was Republicans who facilitated his departure. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, in one of his first moves as House minority leader, in January 2019 stripped King of all committee assignments after he appeared to wonder when "white supremacist" and "white nationalist" became offensive terms. That included King's membership on the House Agriculture Committee, a key post for a rural-district lawmaker.
Several local Republicans went on to challenge King for renomination in his northwest Iowa district, spurred by King's history of head-turning remarks. In early June, state Sen. Randy Feenstra beat King in the Republican primary, and five months later, won the seat. King was among eight House members who lost renomination bids in 2020.
The bill of particulars against King is long. For instance, in July 2013, speaking about proposed immigration legislation, King said of illegal immigrants: "For every one who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds — and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert."
In March 2017, King wrote, "Culture and demographics are our destiny. We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies."
Now in his waning days as a House member, King says he plans to leave Washington. But without any resentment. King's first step is the publication of his book, Walking Through the Fire, the departing lawmaker told the Washington Examiner.
“I'll probably spend the next few months pushing that book. And I'll be doing radio scattered around in different locations," King said. "And we'll see from there, but truth is my cash flow gets better going home. And so there's not an urgency there. We got plenty of time.”
In Iowa, King said, "I'm surrounded by three grown sons within ten miles of my house. We live out in the country and have eight grandchildren. That's a pretty good network to have.”
Looking back, King says he had not thought much of what kind of legacy he would have in Washington. However, he warns new members of Congress to prepare themselves if they plan to speak out independently.
“You have to have three things," King said. "Constituents who will support you, and you have to have a broad fundraising network that's not dependent upon leadership or K Street. And the third thing is a national media voice, so when they decide to undercut you, you can go to the press and tell them the truth.”
King doesn't sound like a departing House member who will miss Washington.
“I don't want to imply that I'm walking out of this town with bitterness. But I'm walking out of this town with an understanding of how deep and how broad this swamp is and what some people will do for power,” he said. “And I'll never be able to understand why they put their souls at risk for power.”
King's long career in Washington did form bonds with a number of rank-and-file members, including one Congressional Black Caucus lawmaker who vouched for King.
“You’ll never hear me calling [King] names. I don’t do that. …I don’t want to, you know, trespass into Republican Conference matters. All I can say is my personal relationship with him has not changed, and I don’t see any reason for it to change,” Missouri Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver said during a radio interview in April 2019.
Cleaver continued, “I think he’ll tell you that we still joke. It’s as if nothing happened, and I’m very aware of all the issues, and I know that sometimes, and I never heard any of it, but I know sometimes Steve gets beat up for the way he says things.”
The Iowa Republican has no current plans to run for office again, though he is not leaving the political arena completely. Pointing to his work on anti-abortion issues and border security, King says he will remain politically active.
“I'm not going to walk away from this. This cause is too important. So I'll continue to add my voice where it needs to be added. And we'll know I'll write and talk and lobby my legislators, and continue to promote the ideas here,” he said.
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Colleagues are happy to see Steve King go but ousted lawmaker says he's not bitter - Washington Examiner
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