Republican lawmaker introduces motion asking for Maxine Waters' resignation

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Maxine Waters calls on supporters to 'harass' Trump officials in public

Washington Examiner White House reporter Gabby Morrongiello on the debate over immigration, the increasingly heated political climate.

A Republican Congressman on Monday introduced an initiative to censure California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters and ask for her resignation after she encouraged others to confront Trump administration officials.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-AZ., introduced a measure calling on the congresswoman to apologize to the White House for “endangering their lives and sowing seeds of discord,” resign from her position, and release a public statement saying harassment or violence isn’t a form of protest.

The measure comes after Waters encouraged harassment of Trump administration officials over the weekend at a rally in Los Angeles.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-AZ., introduced a measure calling on the congresswoman to apologize to the White House for “endangering their lives and sowing seeds of discord,” resign from her position, and release a public statement saying harassment or violence isn’t a form of protest. (U.S. House of Representatives)

"If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere,” she said, sparking condemnation across the political spectrum. She later told MSNBC that protesters are “going to absolutely harass them.”

The Biggs’ motion claims that Waters’ statements could “directly and unnecessarily lead to public unrest, physical violence, and physical injury” and that members of the administration have already been harassed in public.

The motion reportedly already attracted the support of five members of Congress. Biggs told The Hill that Waters’ comments do “not become somebody who's in Congress” and that “everybody agrees that it was just highly objectionable what she did.”

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"So we just introduced it, we have some co-sponsors, but what she did was to basically incite people to come after and attack members of the president's cabinet,” he said. “And also spread that out to more people.”

Waters has since doubled-down on her comments at a rally, insisting that she didn’t suggest harming people. “Trump is the one who is creating lies,” Waters said during a Monday afternoon news conference. “Trying to have people believe that I talked about harming people. There’s nowhere in my statement, anytime, anyplace that we talked about harm.”

“I have nothing to do with the way people decide to protest. Protest is the democratic way as long as it is peaceful,” Waters added. “I believe in peaceful protest. It is guaranteed to you in a democracy.”