Sen. Marco Rubio on Friday endorsed renaming government facilities that had been named after Confederate leaders if it becomes a “source of legitimate disunity.”
The purpose of naming govt facilities isn’t to upset our fellow Americans,it’s to foster national unity & pride by honoring exceptional service to our country
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 12, 2020
If a name becomes a source of legitimate disunity,it’s appropriate to change it,but via a thoughtful & orderly process
The Florida Republican’s comments come as other Republicans on Capitol Hill are split on the issue of changing U.S. military bases that were named after Confederates.
On Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would require the Pentagon to rename military bases and other assets that are named after Confederate leaders.
The amendment will establish an eight-person commission that will “study and provide recommendations concerning the removal, names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America, addressing an implementation plan, cost, and criteria for renaming, among other procedures.”
On the other hand, Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, vowed to fight to change the newly added amendment as he sees it as a threat to the union.
“I will offer an amendment to undo this effort at historical revisionism. I will offer it not to celebrate the case of the Confederacy but to embrace the cause of union, our union, shared together as Americans,” Mr. Hawley said from the Senate floor Thursday.
“It is time for our leaders to stop using their position here to divide us. Let us work together instead to build on the history and the responsibility that we share as Americans to continue that unfinished work of this nation,” he added.
President Trump is staunchly against any attempts to rename military bases.
“The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” he tweeted Wednesday.
“Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!” he added.
The conversation about renaming bases is part of a larger national debate about the legacy of slavery on modern racial tensions after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week called for the removal of 11 statues of Confederate icons, arguing they are a “grotesque affront” to the nation.
Among the statues that she’s requesting to be taken out the Capitol are Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens, the respective president and vice president of the Confederacy. Statues of key Confederate generals and soldiers such as Robert E. Lee, Joseph Wheeler and Wade Hampton III would also be removed.
Several other statues of controversial historical figures, including Robert E. Lee in Richmond, have been taken down or vandalized by protesters in the days following Floyd’s death. Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest.
While some argue that taking down these statues ensures that the nation’s past issues with racism aren’t glorified, others maintain that doing so would be an attempt to deny history, as flawed as it is.
• Lauren Meier contributed to this report.
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