Republican Dorrie O’Brien is leading a group of colleagues in an attempt to unseat Shahid Shafi, a trauma surgeon in Forth Worth, the largest city in Tarrant County.

“We don’t think he’s suitable as a practicing Muslim to be vice chair because he’d be the representative for ALL Republicans in Tarrant County, and not ALL Republicans in Tarrant County think Islam is safe or acceptable in the U.S.,” O’Brien wrote in a Facebook post.

King, who was elected to a ninth term in November, served on the House Judiciary, Agriculture and Small Business committees in the last Congress. The decision to effectively strip him of those posts came as House Democrats pondered rebukes of their own and as leading Republicans across the party spoke out against him.

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King, in a statement, said, “Leader McCarthy’s decision to remove me from committees is a political decision that ignores the truth. . . . Ultimately, I told him, ‘You have to do what you have to do, and I will do what I have to do.’” King did not speak to reporters after leaving an hour-long meeting with McCarthy on Monday evening, before the steering vote.

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King’s words and actions have been a frequent subject of controversy, but never before have they prompted any concrete sanction.

Shortly before the November election, for instance, King lashed out at the media after The Washington Post reported that he had met with members of a far-right Austrian party with historical Nazi ties after flying to Europe for a trip financed by a Holocaust memorial group. Republican leaders largely remained silent.

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“I have no tolerance for such positions and those who espouse these views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms,” McConnell said in a written statement to The Washington Post. “Rep. King’s statements are unwelcome and unworthy of his elected position. If he doesn’t understand why ‘white supremacy’ is offensive, he should find another line of work.”

"You’ve got people, they are hanging on and this has been … there are a lot of people who are touched by this, survivors who haven’t been in the spotlight," Engler said. "In some ways they have been able to deal with this better than the ones who’ve been in the spotlight who are still enjoying that moment at times, you know, the awards and recognition. And it’s ending. It’s almost done.”