“Representative Ley has proven himself to be a rogue partisan extremist, and has demonstrated that he is not fit to serve in a leadership role in this body. His divisive comments yesterday showed that he is more interested in fanning the flames of discontent in the House, than resolving concerns in a professional and respectful manner. In my 4 years as a member of the majority leadership team, we would have never resorted to making a public spectacle of this sort on the House floor. We always extended courtesy to our friends in the minority to work out our differences with dignity and honor rather than impugn our colleagues’ motives before the House. It’s become clear to me that Speaker Shurtleff has lost control of his majority leader, and should terminate Representative Ley’s role as a member of leadership. There’s a very big difference between civil discourse, and rising before your peers to make a condescending speech. It’s time for Speaker Shurtleff to lead by example.”
“Just a few short months ago, as he was accepting the nomination for Speaker, Speaker Shurtleff reflected on what he learned from one of his many listed Republican mentors, ‘…his demeanor as speaker had a lasting impact on me, and the message that it’s so important to put partisanship aside to work for the common good of the people.’ Mr. Speaker, I ask that you follow that advice that had a ‘lasting impact’ on you and put partisanship aside for the good of the House and the good of our citizens that we work hard for every day. It’s time for Representative Ley to go, and time for the Speaker to install someone who embodies the spirit of how the Speaker said he would run this House.”
“There were 47 Democrats that joined with Republicans to table further comment from Rep. Ley. I would like to personally thank them in recognizing that divisive comments have no place at the rostrum during unanimous consent, and voting to end his rantings.”
Background: Unanimous consent is traditionally a time when the House allows remarks from members not specific to legislation. It is often used to memorialize colleagues, celebrate holidays or historical events, and allows members to apologize if they went afoul of House traditions. Appropriately titled, unanimous consent requires no objection from any member of the House. If a member withdraws their consent, remarks can be stalled. Only a few occasions in the last 10 years has unanimous consent been halted due to objection.