House to vote on removing Confederate statues from U.S. Capitol

Washington — The House will vote on Tuesday on legislation to remove statues of Confederate officials from the U.S. Capitol, as well as a bust of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who wrote the Supreme Court's infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857 that ruled that Black people were not entitled to citizenship.

The measure passed in the House last year by a vote of 305 to 113, with 72 Republicans voting with Democrats to remove the statues. But the legislation stalled in the Senate, which was then controlled by Republicans. As Democrats now hold the majority in the upper chamber, it will likely be taken up for a vote, but whether a sufficient number of Republican senators would vote to advance the bill is unclear. Democrats have a 50-seat majority in the Senate, and 60 votes are required to limit debate on a measure. Congressman Jim Clyburn, the House majority whip, connected the measure to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, during which a rioter carried a Confederate flag into the building.