Republican Party Will Try to Boot One of Its Own

It's so rare for the Republican National Committee to seek to oust one of its own members that the body doesn't have an official procedure for doing so. But this week, leaders will mull action against Dave Agema of Michigan, a committeeman who recently shared what he called a "very enlightening" white supremacist newspaper article on Facebook that says, among other things, black people "cannot control their impulses as well" as others—after which he declined to apologize, the National Journal reports. Already, RNC chair Reince Priebus and other leaders have called on Agema to resign, but to no avail, though he did delete the post. On Friday, the party could vote to push him toward a forced resignation—if a resolution today passes, Time reports.

That resolution is backed by Pat Mullins, Virginia's GOP chair. "It is time for us to take a stand against Dave Agema, the national committeeman from Michigan, who continues to disgrace our Republican Party," Mullins writes in a letter to colleagues, calling Agema a "pariah." Agema has made other inflammatory statements in the past, the Journal notes: He once called people of Middle Eastern descent "camel jockeys" and posted an article calling gays "filthy." This is also not the first time he has been asked to step down. "I would suggest that we act as one and pass a resolution making it clear that Mr. Agema’s abhorrent views and words have no place in our party—and that he in no way speaks for us," the letter continues. Michigan state legislators have sent the RNC a similar letter, calling for an end to "our party's long nightmare," the Detroit News reports. (More Republican Party stories.)