GOP Honors First Black Congressman After New Exhibit Excluded His Republican Affiliation

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott honored the first African American member of Congress with a tribute on Friday after a new exhibit in the U.S. Capitol left out his party affiliation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Whip James Clyburn also omitted that former South Carolina Rep. Joseph Rainey, the first African American to serve in the House of Representatives, was a Republican when the Democratic leaders announced the opening of the new exhibit in the Capitol titled, "Joseph Rainey: 150 Years," which celebrates the 150th anniversary of Rainey's swearing-in on December 12, 1870.

During his political career, Rainey "helped found the state Republican Party and represented Georgetown on the party’s central committee." He also served as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1868. 

In addition to Rainey, the exhibit features other African American House members elected in the late 1800s during the Reconstruction period but it doesn't mention that they were Republicans. The first African American Democrat elected to the House was Arthur W. Mitchell of Illinois in 1935. His biography isn't featured in the exhibit but a photo and quote from former Rep. Barbara Mitchell, a Democrat from Texas, is part of the exhibit and her party affiliation is not mentioned either.

(h/t Just the News)