VA Governor Favors Bill To Replace Lee Statue In Capitol: Report

RICHMOND, VA — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to push for legislation that would replace the state's statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the U.S. Capitol. The governor filed a drafting request for a bill that would outline the process for removing the statue and selecting a replacement, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Northam's plan came in response to a letter from two Democratic members of Congress from Virginia that called on the governor to make replacing the statue a priority in the state legislative session that begins in January.

Reps. Jennifer Wexton and Donald McEachin, who made the request to Northam, said there are "countless" other choices of statues to represent Virginia in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection. In their letter, dated Dec. 20, Wexton and McEachin listed a few other choices, including civil rights leader Oliver Hill and 19th-century thinker Booker T. Washington.

In order to change the statue, the Virginia General Assembly would have to pass legislation that would then need to be signed into law by the governor.

Lee's statue, donated by Virginia to the Capitol, aimed "to rewrite Lee's reputation from that of a cruel slave owner and Confederate General to portraying him as a kind man and reluctant war hero who selflessly served his home state of Virginia," the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Northam.

The Democratic lawmakers also cited Florida and Arkansas as examples of states that recently switched out statues of Confederate and Reconstruction figures for other people to represent the state.

Every state nominates two statues to be shown in the building as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The other statue chosen by Virginia depicts George Washington.