“We must start telling our complete history and remove these monuments that venerate individuals who fought to maintain slavery in this country,” tweeted Mr. Herring, a Democrat.
Sculptor Edward Valentine gifted the statue to the collection in 1909 as a commemoration of the general who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until he surrendered in 1865, according to the Architect of the Capitol website.
Mr. Northam, a Democrat, established the Commission for Historical Statues in the U.S. Capitol earlier this year to look into the removal and replacement of the monument.
The commission was created following a wave of Confederate statue removals nationwide sparked by protests over racism and police brutality after George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis in May.