Quad Caucus Demands Immediate Removal of Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller from White House

Washington, D.C. – Today, the leadership of the Congressional Quad-Caucus – which is composed of chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) – and Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congressman David Cicilline sent a letter to President Donald Trump calling for the immediate removal of Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller from the White House. Bannon, Gorka and Miller serve as senior advisors to the President.

Congressional Quad-Caucus leadership along with Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statements upon release of the letter. Full text of the letter can be found here.

"The extremist, racist, and white supremacist ideology that led to violence and terror in Charlottesville does not belong in our communities and has absolutely no place in the White House. It is shameful that Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka, who each have ties to extremist and white nationalist ideological groups and leaders, are serving as President Trump's top advisors. Extremists groups have used their presence in the White House to legitimize their divisive and violent rhetoric, ideology, and actions. They should have no role in creating national policy or pushing their twisted political agenda. The President should send a strong message to those who wish to divide our country by removing and replacing them immediately."

"The white supremacists who descended upon Charlottesville have brought vile racism, hatred and bigotry to the forefront of our political discourse once again. We cannot address the dangerous spread of white supremacy in America without honestly examining its influence on the Oval Office. President Trump has elevated hate and discrimination to the highest levels of our government. From the Muslim Ban, to raids on immigrant communities, a ban on transgender Americans serving in our military, attempts to revive the failed war on drugs and an all-out assault on civil and human rights, the influence of the alt-right is clear in the Trump Administration's policy agenda.

"Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller have long embraced the views of white supremacists, white nationalists and Neo-Nazis. These prejudiced ideologies have no place in the highest office in our land. I urge President Trump to remove Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Sebastian Gorka from the White House without delay."

"President Trump's delayed denunciation of white supremacists and their violent actions in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend cannot be separated from this Administration's ongoing assault on racial and religious minorities. This is not surprising, as the President has filled his inner circle with known supporters of white supremacists, including Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka. Their continued presence in the White House is not only an affront to communities across this nation that were threatened and attacked by the violent protests over the weekend, but is a direct contradiction to President Trump's own delayed condemnation of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. Actions speak louder than words. I join my colleagues and call upon President Trump to remove these white supremacists from office, and take action to defeat hate."

"If President Trump truly wants to start healing the country post-Charlottesville, he should fire the white supremacists working for him in the White House. Bannon, Miller, and Gorka shouldn't be advising any president of the United States, especially on issues that affect African Americans and other marginalized groups."

CPC Co-Chair Raul Grijalva (AZ-03):

"Trump continues to showcase his hypocrisy and overall ineptitude in the handling of the violent terrorist attack in Charlottesville. To pretend to denounce racist rhetoric and dispel actions by white supremacists as ‘repugnant' while also entrusting in and employing individuals like Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Sebastian Gorka, who espouse these extreme views, boggles the mind. Their open intolerance is a threat to the values we seek to promote and protect – they must go."

CPC Co-Chair Mark Pocan (WI-02):

"President Trump's comments and actions so far have allowed people who used to wear sheets over their heads to take them off and go into the streets to start riots and problems. While President Trump finally denounced white supremacists, the KKK, and neo-Nazis, he did so two days late and with carefully scripted remarks. Now that President Trump called out these groups as ‘criminals and thugs,' he needs to take the next step and remove Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka from the White House. President Trump must stop giving them a platform to advance their dangerous and hateful world view and political agenda."

August 15, 2017

The Honorable Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Trump:

In the wake of the deadly hate crimes and violence committed by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, we write to request the immediate removal of Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka from any positions in the White House. As Members of Congress, but more importantly, as Americans, we are deeply concerned that their continued influence on U.S. policy emboldens and tacitly approves the ideological extremism that leads white supremacists to spread violence and hatred.

The world watched in horror this weekend as white supremacists, Klansmen, and neo-Nazis descended upon Charlottesville, Virginia, to rally in defense of a symbol of racism and intolerance. The rally, organized by radicals like Richard Spencer, quickly devolved into violence, leaving three dead and dozens injured. Sadly, in the immediate aftermath of this tragedy, you failed to condemn the white supremacists at the center of the deadly protests despite issuing numerous public statements and tweets. This dereliction of leadership sent a signal to hate groups that bigotry and discrimination have a place in our nation. Americans deserve to know that white nationalists, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis are not in a position to influence U.S. policy.

That is why we continue to find Steve Bannon's presence in your administration incredibly alarming and dangerous to our nation and the world, and once again, we urge you to immediately remove Steve Bannon from the White House altogether. As you know, Mr. Bannon is the co-founder of the white nationalist, "alt-right" website, Breitbart News. Under his direction and approval, this site published blatantly bigoted rhetoric about women, Muslims, and other minorities. It is no wonder that white nationalist groups, such as the KKK, have praised Mr. Bannon's extreme political statements.

While Steve Bannon's continued presence is of utmost concern, we are also increasingly alarmed by other members of your senior staff who have ties to white nationalist groups. Stephen Miller, who currently serves as White House Senior Policy Advisor, is a well-known mentee of white supremacist Richard Spencer and has a long history of both denying systemic racism and promoting multicultural segregation.

Additionally, Sebastian Gorka, who currently serves as Senior Counterterrorism Advisor in your administration, has extensive ties to anti-Semitic hate groups, including the Vitez Order, a successor to the WWII-era Vitezi Rend, which the U.S. State Department lists as "under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany during World War II." Mr. Gorka recently claimed that white supremacists do not pose a homeland security threat, signaling his total denial of the very real danger posed by the vitriolic ideology these groups espouse.

In this time of tumult in our country, Americans deserve a leader that will bring us all together and denounce those who seek to tear us apart. In that vein, we strongly urge you to move expeditiously to remove Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller from the White House. The ideology and political agenda of these men have no place in the highest office in the land.

Sincerely,

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