GOP Split over King Hearing on Islam

House Republican leaders exhibit mixed views about Homeland Security Chairman Peter King’s hearing Thursday that focuses on the “radicalization” of American Muslims. Majority Leader Eric Cantor has voiced strong support for the idea, while Speaker John Boehner and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy have been lukewarm, Politico reports.

As for Cantor, his spokeswoman Laena Fallon says, “Chairman King works tirelessly to ensure that our homeland is secure, and following the tragic murders of U.S. soldiers in Germany by a radical Islamist, the Fort Hood murders committed by a radical Al Qaeda sympathizer and the recent arrest in Texas of a Saudi student planning jihad, this is certainly a relevant topic for committee consideration.”

But Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel was much less effusive, saying only, “Chairman King is chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.”