Swing district Democrats admitted Tuesday that their vote to table the resolution censuring Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was not an “easy vote,” while others refused to comment after the vote.
House Democrats voted along party lines to block House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) resolution censuring Waters for her comments over the weekend in which she allegedly incited violence. If the resolution passed through the House, Waters would have likely lost her position as the House Financial Services Committee chair.
Even though Democrats did stay in lock-step on this vote, many of them representing districts that Republicans could flip admitted that it was not easy. Others refused to talk to reporters after the vote.
“I had to weigh it long and hard because of the votes we’ve taken earlier this year,” Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) said, referring to the House’s vote to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of her committee assignments.
“I don’t think it rises to that level,” she continued. “But, it was not an easy vote.”
Rep. Susan Wild told me she almost voted with the Rs, but decided against it:
“I had to weigh it long and hard because of the votes we’ve taken earlier this year,” citing vote to remove MTG from committees.
“I don’t think it rises to that level. But it was not an easy vote.” https://t.co/wrN9b8MT3n
— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) April 20, 2021
Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA), another swing district Democrat, said, “I’m not really interested in talking about it.”
Conor Lamb, a Pennsylvania Democrat in a swing district, didn’t want to discuss his vote to defeat the resolution censuring Maxine Waters. “I’m not really interested in talking about it.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 20, 2021
Punchbowl News reporter John Bresnahan reported that Democrat leadership was especially concerned about Reps. Dean Phillips (D-MN), Angie Craig (D-MN), and Betty McCollum (D-MN) voting against tabling the resolution.
/4 @RepDeanPhillips @RepAngieCraig @BettyMcCollum04 all vote to table. Leadership was concerned about this trio of Minnesota Dems
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) April 20, 2021
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) took the vote so seriously that they greeted members right before the vote.
How seriously are Democrats taking the vote to defeat the Waters’ censure resolution? Pelosi is on one entrance greeting members, while Hoyer is at the other, leaving nothing to chance. Several vulnerable Democrats have voted with their party, a sign that Pelosi has the votes
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 20, 2021
In a statement after the vote, McCarthy said that Democrats’ blocking of the resolution will only make the House worse off. He said:
Speaker Pelosi, and every other House Democrat, had the opportunity to condemn the violent rhetoric of our colleague Representative Waters, a chairwoman and senior member of Congress, to protestors to ‘get more confrontational.’ Instead, they condoned it. And the House and our justice system are worse off because of it.
Mike Berg, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), said in a statement on Tuesday that voters will hold Democrats accountable for their vote for Waters’ controversial remarks.
“Washington Democrats would rather stand with the violent mob than law enforcement. Voters will hold them accountable for their extremism,” Berg said.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
