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The Congressional Black Caucus is weighing whether to ask for a formal condemnation of Republican Rep. Sean Duffy over abortion-related comments the Wisconsin lawmaker made on the House floor.

 

Last week, Duffy suggested that the Congressional Black Caucus is ignoring the impacts of abortion on minority communities — comments that drew immediate criticism from black lawmakers who felt the message was racially tinged. Now, the caucus is considering offering a privileged resolution to condemn Duffy's remarks.

 

Offering a privileged resolution to criticize a colleague is highly unusual, but CBC members say the abortion comments amounted to an attack on the black caucus making a formal criticism of Duffy fair game. But Duffy — who said Tuesday he stands by his comments — said the resolution talk is a distraction and he was the one who suffered a character attack.

 

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, the chairman of the black caucus, said the CBC will discuss options in the coming weeks. The North Carolina Democrat said he found the comments "disgusting." The effort is being pushed by Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore, multiple sources confirmed.

 

"How dare this man stand out and lecture us and to call us out. He said CBC members. That was personal," Moore told POLITICO. "He did make it personal."

 

The fracas came after Duffy gave an impassioned speech against abortion last week, citing statistics that show that abortion rates are higher among African Americans.

 

"My liberal friends, Congressional Black Caucus members, talk about fighting for the defenseless, the hopeless, and the downtrodden," Duffy said on the floor. "There is no one more hopeless and voiceless than an unborn baby, but their silence is deafening. I can't hear them. Where are they standing up for their communities, advocating and fighting for their right to life?”

 

It sparked a heated floor exchange between Duffy and Moore. Virginia Rep. Dave Brat, who was presiding over the floor at the time, encouraged Moore to avoid personal attacks during the exchange. Moore said then that Duffy’s comments were "racially insensitive" and amounted to attack on the black caucus.

 

On Tuesday, Duffy said that abortion rates among African-Americans are substantially higher than in other communities and he won't be deterred by criticism from the CBC.

 

"I think this is a time they could come together and get numbers back in line versus coming after me. What might be a personal attack is when someone goes to the floor and mentions a members name and calls them racist. That might be a personal attack," he said.

 

The resolution would unlikely be voted on if the CBC opts to move forward with it. Because Republicans control the House it would fall on them to decide if the resolution gets a vote. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) could also opt to send the resolution to committee, table it or hold a full House vote.

 

Most likely the resolution would be tabled.