It was the biggest vote of the 119th Congress so far — and they missed it.
GOP Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York and David Schweikert of Arizona were both recorded as not voting on the Republican domestic policy megabill that passed the House early Thursday morning.
Both were surprising: They had each played key roles in the legislation — Garbarino as a moderate advocate for clean-energy tax credits and raising the cap on the state-and-local-tax deduction, and Schweikert as a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee.
A spokesperson for Garbarino said, “After sitting through proceedings all night, the Congressman briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote. He was present throughout the lead-up to the legislation’s consideration and fully intended to support it. This is one of many reasons why governing should happen in the light of day — not in the dead of night.”
Speaker Mike Johnson gave reporters a more succinct account: “He fell asleep in the back, no kidding.”
“I’m going to just strangle him,” Johnson joked, “but he’s my dear friend.”
A spokesperson for Schweikert did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Johnson said the Arizona lawmaker arrived late to the chamber and the vote gaveled closed before his vote could be counted.
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
