‘Facing 88 felony counts’: Dem's comments on Trump trial prompt faceoff on House floor

House Republicans got into a protracted floor fight with Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern, who refused to take back comments he made about former President Donald Trump’s ongoing criminal trial in New York.

“Donald Trump might want to be a king, but he’s not a king,” McGovern, the ranking member of the Rules Committee, said on the floor. “We have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 felony counts, and we’re being prevented from even acknowledging it. … And yet, in this Republican-controlled House, it’s OK to talk about the trial, but you have to call it a sham.”

He described the counts Trump was facing, including that he was "on trial for sending a hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign, and then fraudulently disguising those payments in violation of the law."

That prompted Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) to demand that McGovern’s words be “taken down,” which means they would be effectively stricken from the record. McGovern declined to withdraw them, prompting an extended face-off on the House floor Wednesday afternoon.

After nearly an hour of delay, Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) — who was presiding over the floor at the time — ruled the words were “a breach of order” by referring to the presumptive GOP nominee in “personally offensive” terms. He ordered them stricken from the record.

McGovern did not object, so the chamber moved on to its regularly scheduled debate.

Later Wednesday, McGovern said he was surprised his words were taken down.

“They can silence me on the House floor, but they can't challenge me here. And you know, there's nothing I said that I regret. There's nothing I said that is inaccurate. I didn’t characterize the trials. I'm glad I said what I said and I'd say it again," he said.

Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.