{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://doyle.house.gov/press-release/congressman-doyle-opposes-appointment-breitbart%E2%80%99s-bannon-trump-white-house-job", "Congressman Doyle Opposes Appointment of  Breitbarts Bannon to Trump White House Job", "2016-11-15", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Mike Doyle", "D000482", "doyle.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA-14) released the following statement today in response to the announcement that President-elect Donald J. Trump had chosen Breitbart News\u2019 Executive Chairman Steve Bannon as his White House senior counselor and chief strategist.\n\u00a0\n\u201cI was deeply concerned by the announcement that President-elect Trump had chosen Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen Bannon to be his White House senior advisor. Under Mr. Bannon, Breitbart News has spewed a torrent of vindictive hate speech attacking a host of Americans based on characteristics like their race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. I find such bigotry deeply offensive, and I believe that appointing Mr. Bannon to a senior position in the White House sends a strong message that discrimination, harassment, and violence against anyone who\u2019s different is acceptable now.\n\u00a0\n\u201cI believe that the American people were deeply disturbed by the negativity of the recent political campaign, and that with that process now over, they want and deserve respect and civility from their elected officials \u2013 starting with their next President. \u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u201cI welcomed President-elect Trump\u2019s remarks election night about wanting to heal the divisions created by this election; consequently, I was surprised and concerned by the appointment of Mr. Bannon, which, it seems to me, undermines that goal.\n\u00a0\n\u201cI\u2019ve joined a number of Members of Congress who are sending a letter to President-elect Trump urging him to reconsider his selection of Stephen Bannon for this incredibly important position. It\u2019s my hope that he will take that step, which I believe would help to heal our deeply divided country.\u201d\n\u00a0\nThe full text of the letter to the President-elect follows below.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\nDear President-elect Trump:\n\u00a0\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\n\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.\n\u00a0\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\n\u00a0\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.\n\u00a0\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\n\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.\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\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": ["http://doyle.house.gov/press-release/congressman-doyle-opposes-appointment-breitbart%E2%80%99s-bannon-trump-white-house-job"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7810918614268303, "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"}