{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sarbanes.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sarbanes-calls-on-president-elect-trump-to-withdraw-bannon-appointment", "Sarbanes Calls on President-Elect Trump to Withdraw Bannon Appointment to White House", "2016-11-16", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "John Sarbanes", "S001168", "sarbanes.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) joined 169 Members of Congress in urging President-elect Donald Trump to rescind his appointment of \"alt-right\" leader Steve Bannon as White House Chief Strategist.\nIn a letter to President-elect Trump, the Members wrote: \u201cIn your election night speech you said, \u2018Now it\u2019s time for America to bind the wounds of division.\u00a0 It is time for us to come together as one united people.' Unfortunately, your appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose ties to the White Nationalist movement have been well-documented, directly undermines your ability to unite the country. As 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.\u201d\nA full copy of the letter is below.\n* * *\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. In your election night speech you said, \u201cNow it\u2019s time for America to bind the wounds of division.\u00a0 It is time for us to come together as one united people.\u201d Unfortunately, your appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose ties to the White Nationalist movement have been well-documented, directly undermines your ability to unite the country. As 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.\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.\u00a0 Millions 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. We 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.\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,\nMembers of Congress\n###", 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://sarbanes.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sarbanes-calls-on-president-elect-trump-to-withdraw-bannon-appointment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4645811170339584, "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"}