The House has approved a bill to remove from the Capitol a bust of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who authored the court’s Dred Scott decision, and replace it with one of former Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black member of the court.
The body approved the bill by voice vote on Wednesday after the Senate did so last week, sending the measure to President Biden, who is expected to sign it.
Congressional Democrats had been trying to push for the legislation for a couple years. The House passed a bill to remove Taney’s bust in a 285-120 vote in June 2021, but the Senate did not take up the legislation.
The legislation approved Wednesday, which was sponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), would direct the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, which is responsible for overseeing the Library of Congress and art works in the Capitol, to remove Taney’s bust from public display within 45 days of the bill being enacted.
