House Republicans Launch ’Nakedly Nativist’ America First Caucus

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Although former President Donald Trump has been gone from the White House for almost three months, many far-right Republicans in Congress continue to push an equally nativist "America first" agenda — and Punchbowl News is reporting that some of Trump's Republican allies in the House of Representatives are putting together an "America First Caucus" based on "Anglo-Saxon political traditions."

According to Punchbowl, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona are "distributing materials" calling for a caucus that would express a "common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions." Punchbowl reports that according to an e-mail invitation it has obtained, House Republicans who have been invited to join the America First Caucus include Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama.

"We've been covering Congress for a long time, and this is some of the most nakedly nativist rhetoric we've ever seen," Punchbowl reports.

The e-mail, according to Punchbowl, is trying to recruit House Republicans who are willing to "follow in President Trump's footsteps." The pitch reads, "History has shown that societal trust and political unity are threatened when foreign citizens are imported en masse into a country, particularly without institutional support for assimilation and an expansive welfare state to bail them out should they fail to positively contribute to the country."

Elections Daily's Eric Cunningham tweeted that even Gohmert found some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric in a description of the America First Caucus troubling:

Politico reporter Andrew Desiderio notes: