Iowa congressman notorious for racist remarks asks Kamala Harris if she was descended from slave owners

Outgoing Republican Steve King has long history of offensive remarks

Steve King asked Kamala Harris if she was descended from slave owners (Getty Images)

An Iowa congressman known for making racist comments has asked Kamala Harris if she was descended from slave owners.

Republican Steve King, who has a long history of making offensive remarks about immigrants, questioned the vice-president-elect’s background on Twitter.

“I’m reading that @KamalaHarris made history as first woman, first black woman, first Asian woman, etc = a boatload of intersectionality points. But Kamala, are you descended from slaves or slave owners?” Tweeted Mr King on Sunday.

Ms Harris is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants and will make history as the first woman and woman of clolour as vice president.

Mr King lost his bid for re-election after 18 years in Congress earlier this year in a surprise primary upset, and will be replaced on 1 January by fellow Republican Randy Feenstra.

The politician was stripped of his committee assignments by Republican leaders in 2019.

This followed divisive comments he made in a New York Times interview in which he asked, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilisation - how did that language become offensive?”

The remarks even caused Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to tell him to “find another line of work.”