Steve King Challenges Chuck Schumer to Amnesty Duel

On Thursday, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) challenged Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to a duel.

But unlike then-Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA), who challenged Chris Matthews to a duel on-air during the 2004 Republican National Convention, Schumer quickly noted that he did not want a duel with “50 paces and pistols” like Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

“If we’re going to have some kind of rhetoric bouncing back between the House and Senate, let’s do it face to face, let’s do it eye to eye,” King said Thursday, according to Politico. “Let’s have that duel, not like Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, but I would be the one standing on the high ground.”

Earlier in the day, Schumer verbally attacked King at a press conference with top Senate Democrats. 

“It is time for the House Republican leadership to decide whether they stand with the majority of the American people, and supposedly the majority of their conference, or if they’re really going to let Steve King dictate the policy of the Republican party on immigration,” Schumer said, as The Hill noted. “This is what Steve King wants. He wants the House to do nothing. He is winning, and America is losing.”

Three weeks ago, Schumer went on the Senate floor and ripped King, saying that it was a “disgrace” King was “calling the shots of the entire House Republicans on immigration.”

King was not going to take it anymore. 

“Let’s do it like real men today — not duel with 50 paces and pistols, but let’s do it with microphones within arms’ reach,” King said, incensed that Schumer called him xenophobic. “Maybe we can get to the bottom of it and see who would have the xenophobia.”

King also said that Schumer has decided to “target me and blame me for the things he believes are failures of the entire House of Representatives.”

“Chuck Schumer represents the extreme outliers and they are socialists, Marxists, progressive, liberal Democrats,” King continued.

Schumer later responded to King on Twitter, and he did not seem too enthusiastic about debating King, saying he would only do so if amnesty legislation gets to the House floor. 

When @SteveKingIA lets the House debate comprehensive #immigration reform on the floor, I’ll happily debate him. -cs

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 22, 2014