{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-leads-169-reps-asking-president-elect-trump-reverse-bannon-appointment", "Cicilline Leads 169 Reps Asking  President-Elect Trump to Reverse Bannon Appointment", "2016-11-16", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "David Cicilline", "C001084", "cicilline.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 169 members of the U.S. House, led by Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI), today sent 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\u201cBigotry, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia should have no place in our society, and they certainly have no place in the White House. Whether intentional or not, the appointment of Mr. Bannon sends a disturbing message about what kind of president Donald Trump wants to be,\u201d said Cicilline, a member of the House Judiciary Committee. \u201cI am grateful that so many of my colleagues joined me in this request today. I hope that the President-elect will consider our concerns as he prepares to enter office.\u201d\nThe full text and a list of signers is embedded below. A PDF of the letter sent to Trump Tower today can be downloaded by clicking here.\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.\u00a0 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\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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,\nDavid N. Cicilline (RI-1)\nAlma Adams (NC-12)\nPete Aguilar (CA-31)\nKaren Bass (CA-37)\nJoyce Beatty (OH-3)\nXavier Becerra (CA-34)\nAmi Bera (CA-7)\nDonald Beyer (VA-8)\nSanford Bishop (GA-2)\nEarl Blumenauer (OR-3)\nSuzanne Bonamici (OR-1)\nMadeleine Bordallo (Guam)\nBrendan Boyle (PA-13)\nRobert Brady (PA-1)\nJulia Brownley (CA-26)\nCheri Bustos (IL-17)\nG.K. Butterfield (NC-1)\nMichael Capuano (MA-7)\nTony Cardenas (CA-29)\nJohn Carney (DE-At large)\nAndre Carson (IN-7)\nMatt Cartwright (PA-17)\nKathy Castor (FL-14)\nJoaquin Castro (TX-20)\nJudy Chu (CA-27)\nKatherine Clark (MA-5)\nYvette Clarke (NY-9)\nWilliam Lacy Clay (MO-1)\nEmanuel Cleaver (MO-5)\nJames Clyburn (SC-6)\nSteve Cohen (TN-9)\nGerald Connolly (VA-11)\nJohn Conyers (MI-13)\nJim Cooper (TN-5)\nJoe Courtney (CT-2)\nJoseph Crowley (NY-14)\nElijah Cummings (MD-7)\nDanny Davis (IL-7)\nSusan Davis (CA-53)\nPeter DeFazio (OR-4)\nDiana DeGette (CO-1)\nJohn Delaney (MD-6)\nRosa DeLauro (CT-3)\nSuzan DelBene (WA-1)\nMark DeSaulnier (CA-11)\nTed Deutch (FL-21)\nDebbie Dingell (MI-12)\nLloyd Doggett (TX-35)\nMichael Doyle (PA-14)\nTammy Duckworth (IL-8)\nDonna Edwards (MD-4)\nKeith Ellison (MN-5)\nEliot Engel (NY-16)\nAnna Eshoo (CA-18)\nElizabeth Esty (CT-5)\nDwight Evans (PA-2)\nSam Farr (CA-20)\nBill Foster (IL-11)\nLois Frankel (FL-22)\nMarcia Fudge (OH-11)\nRuben Gallego (AZ-7)\nJohn Garamendi (CA-3)\nGwen Graham (FL-2)\nAl Green (TX-9)\nGene Green (TX-29)\nRaul Grijalva (AZ-3)\nLuis Gutierrez (IL-4)\nJanice Hahn (CA-44)\nColleen Hanabusa (HI-1)\nAlcee Hastings (FL-20)\nDenny Heck (WA-10)\nBrian Higgins (NY-26)\nJames Himes (CT-4)\nRuben Hinojosa (TX-15)\nMichael Honda (CA-17)\nJared Huffman (CA-2)\nSteve Israel (NY-3)\nSheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)\nHakeem Jeffries (NY-8)\nEddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)\nHank Johnson \u00a0(GA-4)\nMarcy Kaptur (OH-9)\nWilliam Keating (MA-9)\nRobin Kelly (IL-2)\nJoseph Kennedy (MA-4)\nDan Kildee (MI-5)\nDerek Kilmer (WA-6)\nRon Kind (WI-3)\nAnn Marie Kuster (NH-2)\nJames Langevin (RI-2)\nRick Larsen (WA-2)\nJohn Larson (CT-1)\nBrenda Lawrence (MI-14)\nBarbara Lee (CA-13)\nSander Levin (MI-9)\nJohn Lewis (GA-5)\nTed Lieu (CA-33)\nDave Loebsack (IA-2)\nZoe Lofgren (CA-19)\nAlan Lowenthal (CA-47)\nNita Lowey (NY-17)\nBen Ray Lujan (NM-3)\nMichelle Lujan Grisham (NM-1)\nStephen Lynch (MA-8)\nCarolyn Maloney (NY-12)\nSean Patrick Maloney (NY-18)\nDoris Matsui (CA-6)\nBetty McCollum (MN-4)\nJim McDermott (WA-7)\nJames McGovern (MA-2)\nJerry McNerney (CA-9)\nGregory Meeks (NY-5)\nGrace Meng (NY-6)\nGwen Moore (WI-4)\nSeth Moulton (MA-6)\nPatrick Murphy (FL-18)\nJerrold Nadler (NY-10)\nGrace Napolitano (CA-32)\nRichard Neal (MA-1)\nRichard Nolan (MN-8)\nDonald Norcross (NJ-1)\nEleanor Holmes Norton (DC)\nBeto O'Rourke (TX-16)\nFrank Pallone (NJ-6)\nBill Pascrell (NJ-9)\nDonald Payne Jr. (NJ-10)\nEd Perlmutter (CO-7)\nScott Peters (CA-52)\nChellie Pingree (ME-1)\nMark Pocan (WI-2)\nJared Polis (CO-2)\nDavid Price (NC-4)\nMike Quigley (IL-5)\nKathleen Rice (NY-4)\nCedric Richmond (LA-2)\nLucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40)\nRaul Ruiz (CA-36)\nTim Ryan (OH-13)\nLinda Sanchez (CA-38)\nLoretta Sanchez (CA-46)\nJohn Sarbanes (MD-3)\nJan Schakowsky (IL-9)\nAdam Schiff (CA-28)\nKurt Schrader (OR-5)\nBobby Scott (VA-3)\nJose Serrano (NY-15)\nTerri Sewell (AL-7)\nAlbio Sires (NJ-8)\nLouise McIntosh Slaughter (NY-25)\nAdam Smith (WA-9)\nJackie Speier (CA-14)\nEric Swalwell (CA-15)\nMark Takano (CA-41)\nBennie Thompson (MS-2)\nMike Thompson (CA-5)\nDina Titus (NV-1)\nPaul Tonko (NY-20)\nNorma Torres (CA-35)\nNiki Tsongas (MA-3)\nChris Van Hollen (MD-8)\nJuan Vargas (CA-51)\nMarc Veasey (TX-33)\nNydia Velazquez (NY-7)\nTimothy Walz (MN-1)\nDebbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)\nMaxine Waters (CA-43)\nBonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12)\nPeter Welch (VT-At large)\nFrederica Wilson (FL-24)\nJohn 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": ["http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-leads-169-reps-asking-president-elect-trump-reverse-bannon-appointment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4366479590535164, "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"}