{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cummings.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cummings-cicilline-168-house-democrats-urge-president-elect-trump", "Cummings, Cicilline, 168 House Democrats Urge  President-Elect Trump to Reverse Bannon Appointment", "2016-11-16", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "Elijah Cummings", "C000984", "cummings.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) joined Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) and 168 House Members to send a letter asking President-elect Donald Trump to rescind alt-right leader Steve Bannon\u2019s appointment as White House Chief Strategist. Although Republican members of the House were invited to sign Cicilline\u2019s letter, none did so.\n\u201cWe strongly believe that Mr. Bannon\u2019s appointment will not allow the country to heal and come together as one. As one of your top advisors, the White House chief strategist will help set the tone for your administration. The person in this role must be prepared to serve the interests of all Americans, not those of a select few,\u201d\u00a0the Members wrote.\nClick here for a PDF of the letter. The full text and list of signers follows:\u00a0\nDear President-elect Trump:\nImmediately following your victory, many Americans were optimistic and hopeful that you would take the steps necessary to unify our country following the divisive and contentious election. \u00a0In your election night speech you said, \u201cNow it\u2019s time for America to bind the wounds of division. \u00a0It is time for us to come together as one united people.\u201d \u00a0Unfortunately, your appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose ties to the White Nationalist movement have been well-documented, directly undermines your ability to unite the country. \u00a0As elected representatives of millions of Americans from diverse backgrounds, religions, and ethnicities, we strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to appoint Mr. Bannon to White House Chief Strategist.\u00a0\nSince the election there have been a number of incidents across the country in which minorities, including Muslim Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Jewish Americans, have been the targets of violence, harassment and intimidation. Mr. Bannon\u2019s appointment sends the wrong message to people who have engaged in those types of activities, indicating that they will not only be tolerated, but endorsed by your Administration. \u00a0Millions of Americans have expressed fear and concern about how they will be treated by the Trump Administration and your appointment of Mr. Bannon only exacerbates and validates their concerns.\nAs the Executive Chairman of Breitbart News, Mr. Bannon repeatedly and aggressively pushed stories that promote anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and racism. During an interview last summer, Mr. Bannon bragged that Breitbart was \u201cthe platform for the alt-right,\u201d a movement that upholds White Nationalism while strongly rejecting diversity in any form. Under Mr. Bannon\u2019s leadership, Breitbart has referred to a leading Republican who opposed your election as a \u201cRenegade Jew,\u201d suggested \u201cYoung Muslims in the West are a ticking time bomb,\u201d declared that the \u201cConfederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage,\u201d and praised the alt-right as a \u201csmarter\u201d version of \u201cold-school racist skinheads.\u201d\nDisturbingly, leading white nationalists like former KKK Grand Dragon David Duke, American Nazi Party Chairman Rocky J. Suhadya, Richard Spencer, Peter Brimelow, and Brad Griffin have praised the news of Mr. Bannon\u2019s appointment. \u00a0We believe it should concern you that civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, are widely opposed to Mr. Bannon\u2019s appointment.\nWe strongly believe that Mr. Bannon\u2019s appointment will not allow the country to heal and come together as one. As one of your top advisors, the White House chief strategist will help set the tone for your administration. The person in this role must be prepared to serve the interests of all Americans, not those of a select few.\u00a0\nOnce again, we strongly urge you to rescind this appointment immediately and build a diverse White House staff who are committed to the core American values of inclusiveness, diversity and tolerance.\nSincerely,  \n\tDavid N. Cicilline (RI-1)  \n\tAlma Adams (NC-12)  \n\tPete Aguilar (CA-31)  \n\tKaren Bass (CA-37)  \n\tJoyce Beatty (OH-3)  \n\tXavier Becerra (CA-34)  \n\tAmi Bera (CA-7)  \n\tDonald Beyer (VA-8)  \n\tSanford Bishop (GA-2)  \n\tEarl Blumenauer (OR-3)  \n\tSuzanne Bonamici (OR-1)  \n\tMadeleine Bordallo (Guam)  \n\tBrendan Boyle (PA-13)  \n\tRobert Brady (PA-1)  \n\tJulia Brownley (CA-26)  \n\tCheri Bustos (IL-17)  \n\tG.K. Butterfield (NC-1)  \n\tMichael Capuano (MA-7)  \n\tTony Cardenas (CA-29)  \n\tJohn Carney (DE-At large)  \n\tAndre Carson (IN-7)  \n\tMatt Cartwright (PA-17)  \n\tKathy Castor (FL-14)  \n\tJoaquin Castro (TX-20)  \n\tJudy Chu (CA-27)  \n\tKatherine Clark (MA-5)  \n\tYvette Clarke (NY-9)  \n\tWilliam Lacy Clay (MO-1)  \n\tEmanuel Cleaver (MO-5)  \n\tJames Clyburn (SC-6)  \n\tSteve Cohen (TN-9)  \n\tGerald Connolly (VA-11)  \n\tJohn Conyers (MI-13)  \n\tJim Cooper (TN-5)  \n\tJoe Courtney (CT-2)  \n\tJoseph Crowley (NY-14)  \n\tElijah Cummings (MD-7)  \n\tDanny Davis (IL-7)  \n\tSusan Davis (CA-53)  \n\tPeter DeFazio (OR-4)  \n\tDiana DeGette (CO-1)  \n\tJohn Delaney (MD-6)  \n\tRosa DeLauro (CT-3)  \n\tSuzan DelBene (WA-1)  \n\tMark DeSaulnier (CA-11)  \n\tTed Deutch (FL-21)  \n\tDebbie Dingell (MI-12)  \n\tLloyd Doggett (TX-35)  \n\tMichael Doyle (PA-14)  \n\tTammy Duckworth (IL-8)  \n\tDonna Edwards (MD-4)  \n\tKeith Ellison (MN-5)  \n\tEliot Engel (NY-16)  \n\tAnna Eshoo (CA-18)  \n\tElizabeth Esty (CT-5)  \n\tDwight Evans (PA-2)  \n\tSam Farr (CA-20)  \n\tBill Foster (IL-11)  \n\tLois Frankel (FL-22)  \n\tMarcia Fudge (OH-11)  \n\tRuben Gallego (AZ-7)  \n\tJohn Garamendi (CA-3)  \n\tGwen Graham (FL-2)  \n\tAl Green (TX-9)  \n\tGene Green (TX-29)  \n\tRaul Grijalva (AZ-3)  \n\tLuis Gutierrez (IL-4)  \n\tJanice Hahn (CA-44)  \n\tColleen Hanabusa (HI-1)  \n\tAlcee Hastings (FL-20)  \n\tDenny Heck (WA-10)  \n\tBrian Higgins (NY-26)  \n\tJames Himes (CT-4)  \n\tRuben Hinojosa (TX-15)  \n\tMichael Honda (CA-17)  \n\tJared Huffman (CA-2)  \n\tSteve Israel (NY-3)  \n\tSheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)  \n\tHakeem Jeffries (NY-8)  \n\tEddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)  \n\tHank Johnson \u00a0(GA-4)  \n\tMarcy Kaptur (OH-9)  \n\tWilliam Keating (MA-9)  \n\tRobin Kelly (IL-2)  \n\tJoseph Kennedy (MA-4)  \n\tDan Kildee (MI-5)  \n\tDerek Kilmer (WA-6)  \n\tRon Kind (WI-3)  \n\tAnn Marie Kuster (NH-2)  \n\tJames Langevin (RI-2)  \n\tRick Larsen (WA-2)  \n\tJohn Larson (CT-1)  \n\tBrenda Lawrence (MI-14)  \n\tBarbara Lee (CA-13)  \n\tSander Levin (MI-9)  \n\tJohn Lewis (GA-5)  \n\tTed Lieu (CA-33)  \n\tDave Loebsack (IA-2)  \n\tZoe Lofgren (CA-19)  \n\tAlan Lowenthal (CA-47)  \n\tNita Lowey (NY-17)  \n\tBen Ray Lujan (NM-3)  \n\tMichelle Lujan Grisham (NM-1)  \n\tStephen Lynch (MA-8)  \n\tCarolyn Maloney (NY-12)  \n\tSean Patrick Maloney (NY-18)  \n\tDoris Matsui (CA-6)  \n\tBetty McCollum (MN-4)  \n\tJim McDermott (WA-7)  \n\tJames McGovern (MA-2)  \n\tJerry McNerney (CA-9)  \n\tGregory Meeks (NY-5)  \n\tGrace Meng (NY-6)  \n\tGwen Moore (WI-4)  \n\tSeth Moulton (MA-6)  \n\tPatrick Murphy (FL-18)  \n\tJerrold Nadler (NY-10)  \n\tGrace Napolitano (CA-32)  \n\tRichard Neal (MA-1)  \n\tRichard Nolan (MN-8)  \n\tDonald Norcross (NJ-1)  \n\tEleanor Holmes Norton (DC)  \n\tBeto O'Rourke (TX-16)  \n\tFrank Pallone (NJ-6)  \n\tBill Pascrell (NJ-9)  \n\tDonald Payne Jr. (NJ-10)  \n\tEd Perlmutter (CO-7)  \n\tScott Peters (CA-52)  \n\tChellie Pingree (ME-1)  \n\tMark Pocan (WI-2)  \n\tJared Polis (CO-2)  \n\tDavid Price (NC-4)  \n\tMike Quigley (IL-5)  \n\tKathleen Rice (NY-4)  \n\tCedric Richmond (LA-2)  \n\tLucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40)  \n\tRaul Ruiz (CA-36)  \n\tTim Ryan (OH-13)  \n\tLinda Sanchez (CA-38)  \n\tJohn Sarbanes (MD-3)  \n\tJan Schakowsky (IL-9)  \n\tAdam Schiff (CA-28)  \n\tKurt Schrader (OR-5)  \n\tBobby Scott (VA-3)  \n\tJose Serrano (NY-15)  \n\tTerri Sewell (AL-7)  \n\tAlbio Sires (NJ-8)  \n\tLouise McIntosh Slaughter (NY-25)  \n\tAdam Smith (WA-9)  \n\tJackie Speier (CA-14)  \n\tEric Swalwell (CA-15)  \n\tMark Takano (CA-41)  \n\tBennie Thompson (MS-2)  \n\tMike Thompson (CA-5)  \n\tDina Titus (NV-1)  \n\tPaul Tonko (NY-20)  \n\tNorma Torres (CA-35)  \n\tNiki Tsongas (MA-3)  \n\tChris Van Hollen (MD-8)  \n\tJuan Vargas (CA-51)  \n\tMarc Veasey (TX-33)  \n\tNydia Velazquez (NY-7)  \n\tTimothy Walz (MN-1)  \n\tDebbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)  \n\tMaxine Waters (CA-43)  \n\tBonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12)  \n\tPeter Welch (VT-At large)  \n\tFrederica Wilson (FL-24)  \n\tJohn Yarmuth (KY-3)", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cummings.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cummings-cicilline-168-house-democrats-urge-president-elect-trump"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.290062140673399, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}