Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is reaching across the Senate aisle seeking bipartisan support for a resolution to honor conservative movement leader Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Wednesday in Lee’s home state of Utah.
An assassin shot Kirk as he led a question and answer session at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk, who co-founded the organization and built it from nothing into a political and cultural powerhouse, organized the student-geared forum to promote civil discourse on campuses.
Lee, whose resolution filed Thursday calls Kirk a “devoted husband, father, and Christian,” told Breitbart News he hopes he can garner bipartisan support to honor the slain leader.
“I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can come together to condemn this cowardly act of political violence, and honor this champion for free speech and truth who inspired so many of his fellow Americans,” Lee told Breitbart News exclusively.
Lee’s resolution condemns Kirk’s assassination “in the strongest terms possible,” extends condolences to his family, and honors “Kirk’s commitment to constitutional principles of civil discussion and debate between all people of the United States, regardless of political affiliation.”
Tributes to Kirk began pouring in within moments of Wednesday’s shooting and have continued after President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Kirk had passed.
Trump later posted a four-minute video from the Oval Office addressing the nation, calling Kirk’s death a “dark moment for America.”
“Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate, and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America,” Trump said.
Vice President JD Vance issued a heartfelt statement late Wednesday night praising Kirk for his willingness to listen, learn, and engage in the open discussion of ideas — a trait for which Kirk became known and, tragically, what he was doing at the event the moment his life was taken.
Lee’s resolution acknowledges Kirk’s work for conservative causes but focuses on civic virtues praiseworthy regardless of one’s party, calling him a “champion for free speech and truth.”
“Kirk frequently engaged college students of all political backgrounds in open debates and discussion, encouraging civil discourse on college campuses and among college students,” Lee wrote in his resolution.
Lee is hopeful that despite today’s partisan divisions, the Senate can still rally around fundamental American ideals.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
