Republican anger raged Tuesday after multiple Republican members of Congress voted against censuring a Democrat who took advice from sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 House hearing.
Texts between Epstein and Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, were part of a trove of Epstein-related files by the House Oversight Committee, as noted by The Washington Post.
That led to a motion to censure Plaskett, which was defeated 214-209.
“No one who turns to a convicted predator for input on how to conduct official business, especially in a congressional hearing, should sit on the Intelligence Committee or any committee, for that matter. This is about restoring trust in an institution that desperately needs it,” Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said in introducing his motion to censure Plaskett, according to Newsweek.
Although Republicans have a House majority, 10 members did not back the motion.
Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas and Dave Joyce of Ohio voted against the censure, according to the House Clerk’s website.
Republican Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, and Jay Obernolte of California voted “present.”
Republican Reps. Trent Kelly of Mississippi, Michael Rulli of Ohio, John Rutherford of Florida, and Steve Womack of Arkansas did not vote.
The failure was attributed to a deal in which leaders agreed the Plaskett vote would fail in exchange for Democrats not moving forward with a censure vote against Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, according to CNN.
Another backroom deal so Cory Mills can’t get censored for Stolen Valor.
I have the General who “recommended” him for the Bronze Star on record saying he never wrote it, never read it and never personally signed it.
This. Is. Washington.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) November 19, 2025
Avoiding censure for Mills was also cited in September as the reason a censure vote against Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota failed, according to the New York Post.
Tuesday’s vote stirred several Republicans to anger.
“Tonight, a handful of Republicans took a dive on a vote to strip Stacy Plaskett of her position on House intel because of her ties to Epstein,” Republican Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida posted on X.
“They did it to protect a Republican facing his own ethics issues from a similar vote,” she wrote. “This backroom deal s*** is swampy, wrong and always deserves to be called out.”
I am totally disgusted with this bunch of losers. pic.twitter.com/ws5EMmauCv
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) November 19, 2025
“I am totally disgusted with this bunch of losers,” Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee posted on X.
“This just tells you how corrupt this place is. But the disgusting thing about it was four Republicans chose not to vote, three Republicans voted ‘present,’ and three Republicans voted no. So it failed. And what they did was, they cut a deal,” Burchett said in a video he posted.
Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida also vented her anger.
The Plaskett censure failed because house leadership exchanged that censure failure for the withdrawal of a vote to censure and refer Cory Mills to house ethics for investigation. The swamp protects itself.
pic.twitter.com/IvS47gWXne— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) November 19, 2025
“The Plaskett censure failed because house leadership exchanged that censure failure for the withdrawal of a vote to censure and refer Cory Mills to house ethics for investigation. The swamp protects itself,” Luna wrote in a post on X.
“I was wondering if the Speaker of the House of Representatives can explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives from both Republican and Democrat members of Congress,” she said in a video she posted.
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