Rep. Burchett Threatens to Block Socialist from Congress Over Flag Post
Rep. Tim Burchett vows to block Darializa Chevalier from Congress over her controversial flag comment.
2 min read
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) has announced plans to block New York Democratic Socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier from being seated in Congress if she wins the November 3 election, citing a resurfaced post in which she described wiping her hand on an American flag.
Disqualification Over Flag Desecration
Burchett, speaking to the New York Post, stated he intends to use a simple-majority vote to prevent newly elected lawmakers from taking their seats before they swear the oath of office. He argued that the flag comment disqualifies any candidate for office, as it disavows the Constitution.
“You take an oath to uphold the Constitution, and then you’re pretty much disavowing it right there. I just think we’ve lost our compass,” Burchett said.
Personal Connection to Military Service
Burchett emphasized the personal significance of the flag comment, referencing his father’s service as a World War II Marine and his maternal uncle, Roy Hicks, who was wounded during the Normandy campaign. He keeps the flag that covered Hicks’ coffin in his Knoxville office.
“I’m looking at a 48-star flag that hung on my uncle’s casket and [he] died fighting the Nazis, and then see somebody going to get elected to Congress in New York who said they use that flag for a napkin,” he said.
Political Context and Legal Challenges
Burchett said he will offer the motion regardless of whether Republicans hold the House or fall into the minority. The plan, however, faces significant legal challenges. GOP operative John Feehery, a former senior House leadership aide, warned that such a standard would prevent the House from functioning.
“If we refused to seat folks in Congress who said things that we strongly disagreed with, nobody in the House would be seated,” Feehery said.
The Constitution grants each chamber the authority to judge its members’ qualifications. In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that the House had overstepped its authority in excluding Rep. Adam Clayton Powell (D-NY), who had been duly elected and met constitutional qualifications.
Background on Chevalier
Chevalier, who faces Republican Jomo M. Williams in the general election, made the controversial comment in a December 2019 post on X that has since been deleted. She later expressed regret over the post.
The 32-year-old Democratic Socialist upended five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the primary for the 13th Congressional District after an endorsement from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. She co-founded a group that once described itself as “fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” and maintained a deleted account that promoted communism and Marxism.
Source: Breitbart
