Congressional Cowards is a weekly series highlighting the cowards on Capitol Hill, who refuse to criticize Donald Trump or their own party—no matter how disgraceful or lawless their actions.

Republicans are refusing to call out GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah for his disgusting tweets mocking the assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and spreading lies about the alleged killer, who had a list of a number of other Democratic officials and abortion providers.

Rather than specifically condemn Lee’s tweets—in which he falsely stated that the alleged killer, MAGA loyalist Vance Boelter, was a leftist—a number of Republicans have instead tried to “both sides” the issue, saying that both political parties need to turn down the rhetoric.

“The rhetoric that continues to come from both sides is what steams and stirs the fire,” GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told Politico.

Lee has since deleted his tweets after being confronted by Democratic Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, both of Minnesota.

Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota also refused to personally call out Lee.

“I’m at a little bit of a loss because I don’t know what Senator Lee said, but I can share with you that a vast majority of us feel terrible about the fact that these lawmakers lost their lives,” he told Politico, using the tried-and-true Republican tactic of avoiding criticizing their own party by claiming to not have seen their abhorrent conduct.

And, of course, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama made the dumbest comment of all, saying that there’s “too much rhetoric” and nothing can be done to stop it.

“You can talk about it all you want, but it’s never going to happen,” Tuberville told Politico. “I’ve been in sports all my life. Everybody is competitive. They’re always going to push back. Nobody is going to give up.”

Lee has not publicly apologized, and when reporters tried to ask him why he would post something so awful, he ran away.

Cowards. 

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