Arizona Rep. Eli Crane (R) is facing backlash after using the term "colored people" during a heated moment on the House floor.
Crane, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, used the term on Thursday (July 13) while discussing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that seeks to ban the consideration of “race, gender, religion, or political affiliations, or any other ideological concepts” in military recruitment or promotion decisions, per HuffPost.
Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty (D) argued the amendment would set back civil rights. While challenging Beatty's argument, Crane used the term "colored people" to refer to non-white Americans serving in the military.
“Though that was unbelievably inspiring, my amendment has nothing to do with whether or not colored people or Black people or anybody can serve, OK?” Crane said on the House floor. “What we want to preserve and maintain is the fact that our military does not become a social experiment. We want the best of the best; we want to have standards that guide who’s in what unit, what they do.”
“I hope my colleagues on the other side can understand what we’re doing,” he added.
Beatty swiftly called out the Republican lawmaker for using the term.
“I’d like to be recognized to have the words ‘colored people’ stricken from the record,” she said. “I find it offensive and very inappropriate. … I am asking for unanimous consent to take down the words of referring to me or any of my colleagues as ‘colored people.’”
Crane asked to have his comment amended to "people of color," but his request was rejected. "Colored people" was removed from the record without objection.
In a statement, the Arizona representative said he "misspoke" during a "heated floor debate."
“In a heated floor debate on my amendment that would prohibit discrimination on the color of one’s skin in the Armed Forces, I misspoke,” Crane said. “Every one of us is made in the image of God and created equal.”
The Congressional Black Caucus swiftly came down on Crane for his “unconscionable” words.
“The GOP fights against diversity, equity and inclusion training and prove every day why it’s necessary,” CBC tweeted, noting the incident was a “shameful moment on the House floor.”
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