GOP Rep. Opposes Bill Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday: ‘An Effort by the Left’ to ‘Celebrate Identity Politics’

Congressman Matt Rosendale (R- MT) is voting against legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday because, he says, it’s part of efforts to “make Critical Race Theory the reigning ideology of our country.”

Juneteenth, June 19th, is a holiday commemorating the emancipation of slaves in the United States, and it is already recognized in many states. Making it a federal holiday has bipartisan support, and Senate’s unanimous passage of the bill was celebrated by Senator John Cornyn (R- TX).

Happy that my bill to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday just passed the Senate. It has been a state holiday in Texas for more than 40 years. Now more than ever, we need to learn from our history and continue to form a more perfect union. https://t.co/EpcJCUmfmn

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 15, 2021

It is expected to pass the House with bipartisan support as well, but Rosendale put out a statement Wednesday saying that he opposes making Juneteenth a federal holiday because he thinks it’s “an effort by the Left to create a day out of whole cloth to celebrate identity politics as part of its larger efforts to make Critical Race Theory the reigning ideology of our country.”

>@RepRosendale says he’ll vote against Juneteenth as a natl holiday.

vote coming up shortly

Senate passed by voice vote pic.twitter.com/T5L1ZlKIq0

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 16, 2021

“Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race,” he added, “and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences, I will vote no.”

Rosendale was immediately criticized for his opposition, even by Cornyn:

Kooky https://t.co/O3gPnJCyiR

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) June 16, 2021

"Create a day out of whole cloth" is an odd way to refer to a holiday that people started celebrating as early as 1866. As is the reference to Critical Race Theory, an academic school of thought first developed a century after Juneteenth started. https://t.co/6C3cCvACkB

— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) June 16, 2021

Rep. Rosendale appears to think that we are all not united in celebrating the end of (legal) slavery in the U.S. He also appears to think Juneteenth is new . . . https://t.co/j4LMeHY2Xx

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) June 16, 2021

1. Juneteenth has been celebrated for a century and a half
2. It was co-sponsored in the Senate by John Cornyn, not exactly a leftist https://t.co/TSZTsnMi0y

— Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) June 16, 2021

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