Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee voted Wednesday to keep “so help you God” in its witness oath after previously proposing a rules change that would have stripped away the phrase.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the committee chairman, admitted it was a mistake to request the change, according to EWTN.
"So help you God?"
Should it stay or should it go in oaths?
The House Natural Resources Committee debated it today and here's what they decided: pic.twitter.com/0UbBq4TWCN— Jason Calvi (@JasonCalvi) January 31, 2019
Earlier this week, a draft of the proposed rules change was obtained by Fox News. The proposal stripped “God” from the following oath: “Do you solemnly swear or affirm, under penalty of law, that the testimony that you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (D-N.J.) said during debate Wednesday it would be “hurtful and harmful” for the committee “to go out of our way to take it out.”
Democratic Committee to Strike ‘So Help You God’ From Witness Oath
And Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said faith in a higher power “is part of our beginning and some of us believe it could lead to our end if we neglect the source of our blessings.”
Some Democrats, though, remain opposed to the faith-based phrase, such as Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.).
“All of these trappings of religion and God in these oaths certainly have not kept an awful lot of people from lying under oath,” he said.
The committee’s members ultimately voted by a voice vote to keep “so help you God” at the end of the witness oath.