Congress

Here’s one of the few Republicans to defend John Lewis after Trump’s tweetstorm

By Curtis Tate

ctate@mcclatchydc.com

January 14, 2017 03:15 PM

Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kansas Kansas City Star
WASHINGTON

Kansas Rep. Kevin Yoder was one of the few Republicans Saturday to voice support for Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon who found himself the subject of a barrage of critical tweets from President-elect Donald Trump.

Lewis, 76, had questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s election, in which he lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by almost 3 million votes but won the electoral vote.

Trump tweeted that Lewis should focus on his district, “which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested).”

“All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!” Trump tweeted.

January 14, 2017
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Lewis has represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional district since 1987. The Atlanta district is home to several top universities and corporations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the world’s busiest.

On Saturday, Yoder tweeted that while he disagreed with questioning the legitimacy of the election, he praised Lewis as a hero and icon who “deserves all of our respect. He’s earned it.”

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Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse also defended Lewis, tweeting Saturday that the Georgia Democrat “had changed the world.” Sasse was one of the most prominent Republicans who refused to support Trump as the party’s 2016 presidential nominee.

January 14, 2017