A group of Republicans remained neutral as the rest of their party in the House successfully voted to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Wednesday night.
Six Republicans decided to vote “present” instead of voting with their party to censure Schiff for allegations that he abused the trust of his constituents by pushing the theory that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election. It was the second time House Republicans attempted to censure Schiff.
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Here are the six conservative lawmakers, most of whom are on the House Ethics Committee, who opted to vote “present” instead of condemning the California Democrat — a move that could be an attempt to maintain an appearance of impartiality.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)
Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), a member of the House Ethics Committee.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), a member of the House Ethics Committee.
Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL), a member of the House Ethics Committee.
Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), a member of the House Ethics Committee.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), a member of the House Ethics Committee.
Joyce, one of the members of the House Ethics Committee who will now investigate Schiff’s actions according to the censure, said he felt it was appropriate to vote “present” instead of prejudging ahead of an investigation.
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“As a member of the House Ethics Committee, I have always deemed it appropriate to vote present on legislation related to matters that are or could come before the committee rather than prejudging the outcome of the committee’s investigation,” Joyce told Fox News.
A censure vote does not remove a lawmaker from office, nor does it hold any real punishment. Rather, the move is a symbolic vote to express dissatisfaction toward a lawmaker over their voting record or personal conduct. However, the move could come back to haunt Schiff as he runs to replace the retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in the Senate.
