Some sources noted that the Democratic leadership in the House would have to make that decision, as the strategy could seriously undermine bipartisan work as Biden takes office with the promise of unifying a nation that is more divided than ever. And many Democrats noted in particular that it could be a complicated, if not impossible, effort, as more than 130 House Republicans – the majority of the caucus – joined in the objection efforts.
This type of widespread boycott would be a huge and virtually unprecedented move, and generated tense discussions across the Democratic Caucus.
Still, the idea was launched in a Monday afternoon call by Representative Mark Takano (D-California), who chairs the Chamber’s Veterans Affairs Committee, as well as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y. ). Some Democrats are already publicly censoring this group of Republicans as the “Caucus de Sedição”.
“I think we are all struggling with the same thing – finding out what the answer is,” said a senior Democratic official. “Where’s the line in the sand?”
The Republican Party’s top echelons, Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) And Steve Scalise (R-La.), Joined the vote to reject Biden’s vote count, as well as several committee leaders. The dissidents also included 10 members of the Chamber’s powerful Energy and Trade Committee, which deals with a large amount of legislation being handled by the Chamber. The main Republican on the health subcommittee, Rep. Michael Burgess, of Texas, was among them.
Democratic committee advisors split over the matter on Monday, with some warning that panel chairmen are unlikely to go that far. But in the wake of last week’s election challenge and deadly riots, many lawmakers’ offices are already rethinking arrangements to co-sponsor certain pieces of legislation across the corridor, according to several Democratic sources. It also generated questions about how to proceed, if any, with future collaboration.
“Democrats who are deciding who to choose as a Republican leader in the bills will be wise to choose the members who voted in the election results,” warned another Democratic adviser. “The committees will not reward members who voted against the election results – clearly these members are not interested in governing.”
Republicans are aware of the deliberations, two Republican Party sources told POLITICO.
The debate within the Democratic Party captures the bitterness that intensifies in Congress after Wednesday’s Capitol crowd violence, which threatened the lives of lawmakers and officials on both sides and left five dead.
Republicans were quick to point out that more than 30 Democrats voted against certifying results in states that Trump won in 2017. They also noted that lawmakers have raised these procedural disputes in presidential elections since the Nixon era, without the majority party requiring it. punishment of opposition lawmakers who participated.
But Democrats contested that these objections did not ultimately lead to a violent attack on Congress.
Even a group of lawmakers who regard bipartisanship above almost all other values - the Problem Solvers Caucus – made a tense connection in the days after the attack, where Republicans largely resisted Democratic calls to support punishments for Trump, including impeachment.
The potential legislative boycott is just the starting point for Democrats seeking to punish Republicans “Stop theft”, while anger continues to rise over Trump’s role by inciting a crowd that attacked the Capitol on Wednesday.
Ocasio-Cortez defended several ideas, even signaling support to evoke the 14th Amendment to expel his Republican colleagues in a Sunday interview with ABC News. She argued that this constitutional process is not mutually exclusive to the 25th Amendment, which provides for a process to remove an incumbent president.
“The expulsion must be on the table,” said Ocasio-Cortez in calling for Monday’s caucus, sources said – a sentiment echoed by Dep. Bill Pascrell (DN.J.).
Moderate Democrats, however, have fought fiercely against any attempt to expel Republicans from the House, arguing that this would only destroy attempts at unity at the beginning of the 117th Congress.
Democrats are also discussing several other ways to reprimand Republicans who supported Trump’s failed attempt to overturn election results, although it is unclear whether any will gain traction in the early days of Biden’s presidency.
Perhaps the most direct effort to go after House Republicans is pressure from House Democrats to censor Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), The first Republican in both houses to announce his plans to oppose the certification of election, which also helped incite the crowd last week.
Representatives Tom Malinowski (DN.J.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) issued a resolution on Monday that said Brooks “encouraged and incited violence against his fellow members of Congress”, citing a speech alongside Trump last Wednesday, hours before rioters began to invade the Capitol.
Brooks said in his speech, “Today is the day when American patriots start taking names and detonating.” Brooks’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the censorship resolution.
For now, however, the focus is on Trump himself, while the House proposes to oust the president for the second time on Wednesday.
Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Who chairs the House Rules Committee, told reporters on Monday that the caucus would need to discuss any possible next steps for Republican members who opposed the results, or for those who they also helped incite violence.
“Some of these people should have the good sense to resign and should take responsibility for doing the right thing,” said McGovern, specifically mentioning Brooks. He did not rule out the possibility of censoring some of the GOP members: “This is something that we should discuss and reflect on. … Obviously, we need to have these discussions. “
Heather Caygle and Melanie Zanona contributed to this report.