Congressional Black Caucus chairman calls for Rep. Clay Higgins to face censure over since-deleted disparaging social media post about Haitians

The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus informed lawmakers on Wednesday that he intends to file a resolution to censure Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) after the Louisiana Republican called Haitians “wild” and referred to their homeland as the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere.” 

“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu [sic], nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults slapstick gangsters … but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP,” Higgins wrote on X. 

“All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th,” he added. 

Higgins deleted the post a short time later, after apparently being confronted about it by multiple colleagues. 

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, reportedly went up to Higgins on the House floor and demanded that the tweet be taken down before he announced his intention to censure the GOP rep. 

“I would hope that every member of this body understands that no person, particularly those who contribute to communities, who are entrepreneurial, who give to our communities by being nurses and first responders and teachers, that those individuals, those children, no longer have to live in fear or intimidation because of any words or posts that come from members of this body,” Horsford said on the House floor. 

“It is time to end hate and the rhetoric of hate,” he added. “It is not becoming on any member to continue to push this type of rhetoric on any platform, let alone from the House of Representatives.” 

Horsford then asked lawmakers to accept his motion to censure Higgins – for “bringing discredit and disgrace” to the lower chamber – by unanimous consent. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) objected to the motion. 

“First of all, the tweet has been deleted already and removed,” Scalise said. 

“If we want to go through every comment and tweet from the other side we’ll be happy to do it, and you will be appalled by some of the things that haven’t been removed,” he argued. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters that he had spoken with Higgins about that tweet and indicated that his Louisiana colleague “regretted it.” 

“He was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive,” Johnson said. “He went to the back — I just talked to him about it — he said he went to the back and he prayed about it, and he regretted it, and he pulled the post down.”

“I’m sure he probably regrets the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here,” the House speaker added, noting that Higgins is “a dear friend” and “very frank and outspoken.” 

Higgins, 63, has served as Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District rep since 2017. 

He previously worked in law enforcement in the Bayou State, where he was known as the “Cajun John Wayne” and gained notoriety for viral “Crime Stoppers” videos. 

In the videos, Higgins – tough-talking and holding a rifle – would often refer to suspected criminals as “animals” and “thugs.” 

The Post has reached out to Higgins and Horsford for comment.