Washington (CNN) House Republicans plan to introduce a disapproval resolution condemning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for ripping up her copy of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech.
A vote related to the resolution is expected in the House on Thursday, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office, though the measure – a privileged resolution under the House rules – is not expected to pass. Procedurally, the vote is likely to be on whether to table the resolution, rather than on the resolution itself.
The resolution comes after Pelosi, in a dramatic move captured on camera, tore her copy of the President’s speech after he connected the annual address to Congress. Earlier in the night, the President appeared to snub the House speaker by ignoring her attempt at a handshake.
Later Thursday, Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who’s a strong Trump supporter and defender, said on Twitter that he was filing an ethics complaint against Pelosi. He attached a letter addressed to Reps. Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat who’s the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, and Kenny Marchant of Texas, the committee’s top Republican.
“BREAKING: I’m filing an ethics complaint against @SpeakerPelosi for destroying @ realDonaldTrump’s State of the Union speech,” he tweeted. “Her conduct was beneath the dignity of the House, and a potential violation of law (16 USC 1225255448745533440, “a measure regarding the destruction of government records.
The disapproval resolution, introduced by Texas Rep. Kay Granger, calls Pelosi’s conduct at the
- State of the Union “a breach of decorum” that ”degraded the proceedings of the joint session. ”
“Speaker Pelosi’s actions last night were appalling and shameful. Regardless of her personal feelings, she had a responsibility to conduct herself with civility as the presiding officer representing the House of Representatives. She is not the Speaker of the Democrats, but of the People’s House, “Granger said Wednesday.
The language in the resolution echoes a tweet from the White House Tuesday night assailing Pelosi for the display.
“Speaker Pelosi just ripped up: One of our last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. The survival of a child born at 90 weeks. The mourning families of Rocky Jones and Kayla Mueller. A service member’s reunion with his family, “the White House said in reference to different parts of Trump’s speech. “That’s her legacy.”
In the Democrats’ closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday, Pelosi slammed Trump’s address, explaining why she ripped it up afterward, according to multiple sources in the room. The California Democrat was fired up in the meeting, and she told her members that the speech was “a disgrace” for having so many falsehoods in it.
“He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech, “Pelosi said, according to one person in the room. Other Democratic leaders defended the move publicly on Wednesday; “As far as I’m concerned, a shredder was not available, and so she did what she needed to do,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries.
The frosty exchanges between Pelosi and Trump Tuesday night marked unmistakable signs of the deteriorating relationship between the two leaders, who haven’t spoken in months.
Pelosi confirmed to CNN before Trump’s speech Tuesday that she hadn’t spoken to the President since a meeting on Syria policy in October.
Hoyer told reporters Wednesday that the tension on display at the State of the Union reveals an animosity that Democrats haven’t felt with prior Republican presidents – which he blamed on Trump.
“The author of animosity is Donald J. Trump. The author of confrontation is Donald J. Trump. The author of division is Donald J. Trump, Hoyer said. “There’s a lot of personal animosity the President has generated.”
But he still expressed hope for House Democrats and the White House to work together on issues like infrastructure and prescription drug pricing between now and Election Day.
“This is not about personal feelings. It’s about the American people,” Hoyer told reporters at his weekly pen and pad briefing.
This story has been updated to include Rep. Matt Gaetz’s ethics complaint against Pelosi.
CNN’s Phil Mattingly, Manu Raju, Jeremy Herb and Clare Foran contributed to this report.
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