"Maybe it's just pent-up negative energy from the long government shutdown, but since the U.S. House has been back in session our lawmakers have spent a lot of time formally rebuking each other. Last week, a resolution "reprimanding" Illinois Democrat Chuy Garcia for a shady-looking succession scheme narrowly passed. Yesterday the House deflected a censure motion aimed at Florida Republican Cory Mills for various acts of personal misconduct, referring it to the Ethics Committee. And there was more, as Axios reports:"
"It's an epidemic of finger pointing and virtue signaling. And it's not just the usual partisan guerrilla warfare: The Garcia reprimand was introduced by fellow Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and the Mills censure was sponsored by fellow Republican Nancy Mace. Partisanship has undoubtedly encouraged retaliation, however, as both sides keep count of how many of their teammates are being shamed. But any House member can make a "privileged" motion to reprimand or censure a colleague, which forces an almost immediate vote."
House members have increasingly filed reprimand and censure motions, producing numerous privileged measures and near-immediate floor votes. Reprimands and censures have targeted members across parties, including instances against Chuy Garcia, Cory Mills, Stacey Plaskett, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Any House member can make a privileged motion to reprimand or censure, and a simple majority suffices for passage, while expulsion requires a two-thirds vote. Partisan dynamics and intra-party sponsorship have amplified retaliatory counting of shamed colleagues. Representatives Don Beyer and Don Bacon introduced legislation to raise the censure threshold to a 60% majority.
Read at Intelligencer
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]