House lawmakers spent their first full week back in Washington after the 43-day government shutdown fighting not just with the opposite party but within their own ranks.
The week included attempts to formally reprimand three members, two of which were intraparty complaints, and a Republican-led resolution denouncing socialism that fractured Democrats.
Democrats and Republicans alike bemoaned the political and personal distractions from what should have been a week to get back to legislating after an absence of nearly two months.
“We didn’t talk about any of the things that matter to people at home,” Rep. Brad Schneider, Illinois Democrat, told The Washington Times. “We had grandstanding and showboating and a whole lot of partisan nonsense.”
Rep. Ben Cline, Virginia Republican, said it is taking the House “a little time to hit our stride.”
“We’ve got some important things we need to work on, and so those conversations are being had,” he said. “I think when we get back from Thanksgiving, we’ll be running more smoothly.”
The House voted on Sept. 19 to pass a stopgap bill to fund the government and did not return to Washington until Nov. 12 to pass a Senate-amended version to end the record-breaking shutdown.
The House didn’t stick around after reopening the government, so this was lawmakers’ first full week back in Washington.
Rep. Joseph Morelle, New York Democrat, called it a “complete waste of a week” and said the chamber accomplished so little legislatively that it was like they hadn’t even returned.
“I don’t understand the Republicans,” he said. “America has a lot of challenges. We have so many different things we should be focused on, and we’re not doing any of it.”
House GOP leaders added Friday as a session day to try to make up for time lost during the shutdown, but the only vote scheduled was a non-binding resolution to denounce socialism.
“I’d like to get back to serious work instead of messaging bills like this one or censure,” Rep. Michael McCaul, Texas Republican, told The Times.
Mr. McCaul has served two decades in the House and watched the institution and lawmakers’ relationships decline over the years.
“It’s a lack of maturity and serious lawmakers that want to get good things done for the country rather than just placating their own news outlets or YouTube or social media,” he said. “It has really kind of destroyed a lot of the fabric of the House.”
Mr. McCaul said some of the antics of the week might have been related to pent-up frustrations from the shutdown absence, but others are just responses to “the misbehavior of members of Congress.”
The House voted on disciplinary resolutions filed against three lawmakers, while a fourth was threatened and may come to the floor soon.
The first was a resolution of disapproval admonishing Illinois Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García for “undermining the process of a free and fair election.” It was adopted 236-183, the only successful disciplinary measure of the week.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington Democrat, filed the resolution rebuking Mr. García, which drew complaints from fellow party members accusing her of “hubris” and engaging in a “cheap political stunt.”
She alleged Mr. García handpicked his chief of staff to run to replace him in 2026, and waited to announce his plan to retire until after the state’s election filing deadline so there would be no competition. Mr. García, 69, had planned to seek a fifth term but decided against it due to health and family issues. He said he followed Illinois rules and election law.
In the vote, 22 Democrats joined all Republicans in favor.
Later that day, Democrats stood united against a GOP-led effort to censure Del. Stacey Plaskett for “inappropriate coordination with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing” in 2019. The 209-214 vote failed, with three Republicans joining in opposition and another three Republicans voting “present.”
Several Republicans were outraged and said the measure only failed because Democrats had threatened to force a vote on censuring Rep. Cory Mills, Florida Republican, in retaliation.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Republican, delivered floor remarks accusing the leadership of both parties of “cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption.”
The next day, Ms. Luna supported a resolution filed by fellow Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina to censure Mr. Mills.
Mr. Mills moved to refer the measure to the Ethics Committee, promising to cooperate with the panel and present evidence disapproving allegations of stolen valor, violation of campaign finance and financial disclosure laws, and assault and harassment of romantic partners.
The House voted 310-103 to let Mr. Mills defend himself before the Ethics panel, but the eight Republicans and 95 Democrats voting in opposition wanted to proceed with censure.
Democrats said Ms. Mace and South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, who led the censure resolution against Ms. Plaskett, were trying to score political points as they run against each other for governor.
On Thursday, there was a break from the disciplinary votes after GOP Rep. Greg Stuebe temporarily backed off a threat to punish fellow Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat who was indicted for defrauding the government of $5 million in disaster assistance and using the money to get elected to Congress.
Mr. Steube initially said he wanted to censure Ms. Cherfilus-McCormick, but quickly changed his mind and said she should be expelled. He had planned to force a vote on Thursday but decided to hold off until the Ethics Committee finishes its investigation.
Thursday wasn’t a normal day in the House, however, as a subway car that transports lawmakers from the Rayburn House office building to the Capitol literally caught fire — a perfect metaphor for the chaos of the week.
Debate on the anti-socialism resolution on Friday got so heated that a lawmaker asked that another’s words be stricken from the record.
Florida GOP Rep. Maria Salazar, lead sponsor of the resolution, criticized California Rep. Maxine Waters, who was leading debate for the Democrats, for traveling to Cuba “dozens of times to visit Fidel Castro personally, whom you consider your friend.”
Ms. Waters moved to “take her words down” because they were a personal attack, which is against House rules. After some discussion, Ms. Salazar complied and withdrew her comments, but then later posted the video to social media.
Asked about the crazy week, Rep. Tim Burchett, Tennessee Republican, said the House is just a representation of the country.
“It is a broken country, and we need real revival,” he said.
Through the fighting, lawmakers did come together for some big bipartisan votes.
The House voted 427-1 to pass a bill requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files. And it unanimously passed legislation to repeal a provision to let Republican senators whose phone records were subpoenaed in the Biden-era Arctic Frost investigation to sue the government for damages.
Other bills passed with smaller margins, including legislation to lift restrictions on the import and export of natural gas and measures designed to crack down on crime in the District.
Rep. Shomari C. Figures, Alabama Democrat, was willing to look past some of the chaos of the week and take “solace” in unifying moments, like one he led to honor World War II veteran George E. Hardy, the last surviving combat pilot of the Tuskegee Airmen, who died during the prolonged House break.
He also pointed to the silver lining of the shutdown being over, saying, “It’s good to see the workers back, and seeing our staff back and knowing that federal employees are being paid.”
