Lucas Jackson/Reuters
Viral video personalities Lynnette "Diamond" Hardaway (L) and Rochelle "Silk" Richardson speak at the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in Dallas, Texas.
Republican Rep. Steve King invited pro-Trump online personality Lynnete "Diamond"Hardaway from the Diamond & Silk duo as his guest to the State of the Union.
King was recently stripped of all his committee assignments by House Republican leadership for comments questioning the offensiveness of terms like "white supremacist."
Republican members of Congress have often praised Diamond & Silk, inviting them to the Capitol and holding a Judiciary hearing dedicated to them.
WASHINGTON - Embattled Iowa Rep. Steve King, who was recently punished by Republican leadership for making racist statements, announced he would be bringing Lynnete "Diamond" Hardaway from pro-Trump online duo Diamond & Silk as his official guest to the State of the Union address on Tuesday.
"Having only one ticket, I invited one of two guests for the State of the Union tonight," King wrote on Twitter. "Lynnette Hardaway & Rochelle Richardson, otherwise know as Diamond & Silk. Diamond won the coin toss. Both will be my guest speakers at COS in the morning."
Read more: Pro-Trump vloggers Diamond and Silk testified before Congress - and it got out of hand fast
King has long been a fan of Diamond and her partner on their web show, Rochelle Richardson, who goes by "Silk." The duo has many fans among the House Republican Conference.
When Republicans controlled the House, they held hearings on behalf of Diamond & Silk and defended them against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who they claimed suppressed their content for political reasons.
In January, after King questioned the offensiveness of terms like "white supremacist" in a New York Times interview, Republican leadership stripped the Iowa Republican of all his committee assignments, leaving him without the opportunity for any legislative work during the rest of his tenure in Congress.
King refused to step down and has since drawn a primary challenger in his district. After the 2018 midterm elections, King is the only Republican left in Iowa's delegation to the House. However, Iowa's two senators are both still Republican.
The House also voted overwhelmingly to condemn King's remarks in a resolution that rejected white supremacy and white nationalism. While the resolution even mentioned King's name, he also voted for the resolution.