Dan Bishop: “Madam Clerk, I rise to place in nomination the name of Byron Donalds of Florida. I will begin by saying how much I have…”

“Madam Clerk, I rise to place in nomination the name of Byron Donalds of Florida. I will begin by saying how much I have anticipated the arrival of the gentleman from Michigan, Congressman James, in this House; not in the Senate, not in the old, staid, unchanging Senate, but in the House where we make change. Yesterday, we could have elected the first Black Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Hear me clearly. Had the cascade of votes begun, it would have extended to every Member of this body. It could begin today. Last night, I sat within feet of Mr. Donalds as the tweet of another Member-elect appeared on the screen. That Member-elect wrote and sent out to America that Byron Donalds is a prop. I have spent a good bit of time with Mr. Donalds, especially lately. He ain't no prop. If he were a prop, he wouldn't be sitting where he is sitting. This is the tired, old, grotesquely racist rhetoric that we have seen far too long. Today, a Member-elect quote tweeted a FOX News story that incorrectly reported that I said that if I don't prevail on the question before the House, I will resign. That Member-elect quote tweeted that incorrect story for his own political purposes after the story had been corrected and the actual statement contradicting that report had been provided. This is the old trafficking in lies from Washington that the American people know far too well. And, by the way, I am not leaving.…”