Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) will submit a bill to remove statues of Confederate leaders from the Capitol Building. Booker tweeted his intentions on Thursday, saying it was "just one step" and that there is "much work" left to be done.
I will be introducing a bill to remove Confederate statues from the US Capitol building. This is just one step. We have much work to do.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 17, 2017
There are 12 statues of Confederate figures in the Statuary Hall Collection, including former Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis and Gen. Robert E. Lee. Each state got to pick two people to represent in the Statuary Hall, which contains 100 statues total. Two states--Mississippi and South Carolina--are represented entirely by figures from the Confederacy.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has echoed Booker in calling for the statues' removal.
BREAKING: Pelosi calls for removal of Confederate statues from Capitol https://t.co/e99BBPCkSO pic.twitter.com/Z0cVZjRt1t
— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) August 17, 2017
Given that only states can choose which statues to place in the Hall, it's unclear as to how Booker's bill would work around their removal. It also was unclear if the bill would extend to just statues, or would include other works of art as well.
Booker did not give any sort of timeline as to when he will be introducing the bill. Currently, the Senate is on recess until the beginning of September.
Meanwhile in New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Wednesday night that the busts of Gens. Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee would be removed from the Hall of Fame of Great Americans located at Bronx Community College. Other cities have followed suit in removing various Confederate statues and memorials from public parks.
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