Some of the most well-known House Republicans — known in part for the antagonism with which they propagate their beliefs and political approach — consistently encounter failure in their attempts to actually see through the enactment of something in line with their agenda.
This week, a proposal from Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) that would’ve reduced the salary of a top official in the Defense Department to nearly nothing came up for a vote on the House floor… and a huge majority rejected it. The proposal was styled as an amendment to a funding bill for the Defense Department for the upcoming fiscal year, and the targeted official was Shawn G. Skelly. Skelly is a transgender woman, and Boebert made a point in some of her Congressional remarks about the official to refer to Skelly with incorrect pronouns. What does disrespecting someone accomplish? Is being in Congress just a power trip for these people, who evidently just want to see who they can get away with bullying?
A full 282 members of the House voted against Boebert’s proposal, with only 150 in favor. As a reminder, there are 435 seats in the House in total. The GOP-led House did separately approve (via voice vote) an amendment to that defense funding bill that, if fully enacted (which is extremely unlikely), would nearly eliminate the salary for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. That amendment was sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Another failure, though, came for fellow extremist Matt Gaetz, the Republican Congressman from Florida. He proposed an amendment that if enacted would have cut off security assistance from the U.S. for Ukraine, and an even larger majority — 339 members — voted no.
“People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect when being addressed,” Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) said earlier on the House floor in response to Boebert’s behavior towards Skelly, who Boebert tried to tie to calamities seen around the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “Assistant Secretary Skelly has served in her role admirably.”
