© 2026 ABC News

...can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

...the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

While it's not clear how quickly the chamber might take action on the statues, House Majority Steny Hoyer signaled Tuesday that he supported their removal -- reaffirming the position of Democratic leaders since the last attempt to do so.

\"The effort to remove symbols of oppression, slavery and segregation and hate and bigotry, I think are appropriate,\" Hoyer, D-Md., told ABC News during a conference call with reporters.

But Floyd's death in police custody and the resulting protests in America and around the world have reenergized efforts to tear down statues and other figures representing the Confederacy, slavery and racism.

In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, responded to protests with plans to take down a prominent statue of Lee in Richmond, the state capitol. A judge has issued an injunction, preventing the move for now.

\"PHOTO:
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
PHOTO: A tour guide talks about the Statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that is located inside the Capitol, Aug.17, 2017, in Washington, DC.
>

Jacksonville, Florida, has dismantled a Confederate monument in the city center. The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has also dismantled a statue of John Breckenridge Castleman, a Confederate soldier-turned U.S. general and prominent local businessman.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy earlier this week said he would be willing to begin bipartisan discussions over re-naming installations named after Confederate leaders, such at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Following the Marine Corps decision in February, Navy leadership is also readying an order to prohibit the display of the Confederate flag in public spaces and on any aircraft, ships or submarines.

In Bristol, England, protesters took down a statue of a 17th-century slave trader, dumping it in the city harbor. In Antwerp, Belgium, the city took down a statue of King Leopold II, known for his brutal rule of Belgium's African colonies in the late 19th century, that had been defaced by protesters.

Thompson said he is optimistic about the latest effort and the message it could send to Americans.

\"Moving those symbols to the Smithsonian, and not allow them places of honor in the Capitol, would be a seminal moment for this country,\" he said. \"If we don't take this moment in time, and heal our wounds, then I don't think it will ever happen.\"

ABC News' John Parkinson, Luis Martinez and Elizabeth McLaughlin contributed to this report.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/democrats-push-remove-confederate-statues-us-capitol-george/story?id=71140758","legacySlug":"/news/story/democrats-push-remove-confederate-statues-us-capitol-george-71140758","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"23:12","publishDate":"06-09-2020","updatedTime":"11:13","updatedDate":"06-10-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"A tour guide talks about the Statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that is located inside the Capitol, Aug.17, 2017, in Washington, DC. ","credit":"Mark Wilson/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/lee-gty-er-200608_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"6/9/2020 23:12:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":71140758,"headline":"Democrats seek removal of Confederate statues","mediaAssetTitle":"HOUSE BILL CONFEDERATE STATUES","description":"Lawmakers have repeatedly pushed for their removal without success. ","duration":"1:29","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/06/200609_wn_rulli_643_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["71164349","71159159","71045364"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2020","headline":"Nationwide push to remove confederate symbols","section":"news","slug":"/video/71164349","id":71164349,"image":{"alt":"Nationwide push to remove confederate symbols","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/WNT/200609_wn_rulli__hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2020","headline":"A Confederate soldiers monument is removed from a public park in Indianapolis","section":"news","slug":"/video/71159159","id":71159159,"image":{"alt":"A Confederate soldiers monument is removed from a public park in Indianapolis","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/confederatestatue_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 17, 2026","headline":"Headlines from ABC News Live","section":"news","slug":"/video/71045364","id":71045364,"image":{"alt":"Headlines from ABC News Live","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/weekday_headlines_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Democrats seek removal of Confederate statues","description":"Lawmakers have repeatedly pushed for their removal without success. ","duration":"1:29","uploadDate":"06-09-2020","publication":"06-09-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/06/200609_wn_rulli_643_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/06/200609_wn_rulli_643_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/democrats-push-remove-confederate-statues-us-capitol-george-71140758"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Democrats seek removal of Confederate statues","pubTime":"19:12","pubDate":"06-09-2020","modTime":"07:13","modDate":"06-10-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":71140758,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Democrats seek removal of Confederate statues","mediaAssetTitle":"HOUSE BILL CONFEDERATE STATUES","videoId":71140758,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/democrats-push-remove-confederate-statues-us-capitol-george-71140758"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/71140758","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/71140758","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};