House approves resolution honoring Charlie Kirk with dozens of Democrats opposed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House overwhelmingly passed a resolution honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Friday, but a significant number of Democrats voted against it, highlighting the deepening political divide in the wake of his assassination.

The resolution, which praised “the life and legacy” of Kirk, passed the Republican-controlled House with 310 votes in favor. While 95 Democrats supported the resolution, 58 voted against it and 38 voted “present,” effectively abstaining. Republicans had warned ahead of the vote that no one should oppose the measure, but many Democrats said they felt Kirk’s death had been politicized and the resolution elevated views they disagreed with.

“Today's resolution underscores the majority's recklessness by choosing to author this condemnation and honoring on a purely partisan basis," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a high-profile Democrat who voted against the resolution. “We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was.”

Speaker Mike Johnson said there was “no partisan language” in the resolution and there was “no excuse” for anyone not to vote in favor of it.

“We are honoring someone who contributed greatly to the free marketplace of ideas and public discourse and who died in a disgraceful, horrific manner,” Johnson told reporters.

The vote capped a week of heightened tensions in Congress and across a nation grappling with Kirk’s assassination and the legacy he left behind. Many on the right have blamed the left for fostering a political climate that led to his death, pushing for more than condemnation and allowing little room for criticism of his views. In the days since, backlash to such criticism has led to firings — ranging from teachers to journalists — as conservative activists have launched aggressive pressure campaigns.

“No single member of the House Democratic caucus, not a single member, condones political violence in America,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday.

Still, Democrats who voted against the measure were heavily criticized.

“Who could vote against that?” President Donald Trump said Friday afternoon about the resolution.

Earlier this week, the House narrowly declined to punish one of its own over commentary in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The Republican effort to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar came after she criticized Kirk’s views of gun ownership and race relations in the aftermath of George Floyd’s 2020 death in Minneapolis. After the vote fell short, Trump responded by calling Omar “terrible.”

While Friday’s resolution aimed to honor Kirk and denounce political violence, many Democrats took issue with its language. The text described Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, as someone who was “seeking to elevate truth, foster understanding, and strengthen the Republic,” and that he stood “as a model for young Americans.”

The resolution sparked intense internal debate among Democrats. While party leadership ultimately backed it, they did not push members to vote a certain way. Some lawmakers saw it as a political trap designed to force them into endorsing Kirk’s views.

“This Republican resolution was designed as a political ‘gotcha’ — trying to force every member of Congress to lift up the views of Charlie Kirk rather than simply condemning his assassination,” said Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal in a statement. “I cannot do that.”

Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who was among a few in the party to attend a vigil honoring Kirk at the Capitol earlier this week, said she supported the resolution "because his horrific killing, and this volatile time require all of us to reject violence, hate, and anger without hesitation.”

Many Republicans in Congress are set to travel to Arizona on Sunday for Kirk’s funeral. Johnson, who plans to attend the funeral, gave a long tribute on the House floor on Thursday, saying the the best way to honor Kirk was to “advance the principles that he advanced, and to adopt his approach.”

National Republican Campaign Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella said that Democrats are “so consumed by hatred and political violence that they couldn’t even bring themselves to support a resolution condemning the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”

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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., right, joined by Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., center left, leads a vigil to honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk who was shot and killed at an event in Utah last week, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party.

Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right. Reform has topped opinion polls for months, trounced the Conservatives in last May’s local elections and has welcomed a stream of defecting Tory members and officials.

Jenrick, who has continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

The Conservatives remain the official opposition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)