WASHINGTON, Jan.14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican House Representative Steve King was stripped of committee assignments Monday night as both Republicans and Democrats condemn his comments on white supremacy.
"We will not tolerate this type of language in the Republican Party ... or in the Democratic Party as well," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, "I watched what Steve King said and we took action."
McCarthy announced that the House Republican Steering Committee, which oversees committee assignments, met Monday night and decided that King "will not be serving on committees in this Congress."
King, 69, was previously a member of House committees on the judiciary, agriculture and small businesses, according to his website.
In a New York Times interview published last week, King asked: "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization -- how did that language become offensive?"
"Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?" he continued.
King has been under fierce fire since the interview was published. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that if King "doesn't understand why 'white supremacy' is offensive, he should find another line of work."
"There is no place in the Republican Party, the Congress or the country for an ideology of racial supremacy of any kind," McConnell said.
In a statement Monday, King insisted he used "that language" to refer "ONLY to Western Civilization and NOT to any previously stated evil ideology ALL of which I have denounced."
Local media reported that King, an Iowa conservative, has a lengthy history of incendiary comments related to race and immigration.
