Only One Republican Voted For George Floyd Police Reform Bill — Then Slammed it When He Realized Mistake
When the House passed the police reform bill named for the late George Floyd, only one Republican had voted for it — by accident.
On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives passed H.R.1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, by a vote of 220 to 212. Two Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Ron Kind of Wisconsin — voted against the bill, and one Republican, Texas Congressman Lance Gooden, voted for it.
The bill’s stated purpose is “To hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court, improve transparency through data collection, and reform police training and policies.”
But less than an hour after that vote, Gooden submitted a form — apparently recovered from a printer tray in 1997 — amending his vote to “nay,” and slammed the bill in a tweet.
I have arguably the most conservative/America First voting record in Congress!
Of course I wouldn’t support the radical left’s, Anti-Police Act.
I have changed the official record to reflect my opposition! pic.twitter.com/s7uCdlxvgO
— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) March 4, 2021
In the interim, several other GOP members tried to fix the grave misimpression that even a single Republican would support the police reform bill named after George Floyd. From Punchbowl:
Gooden left the floor Wednesday night seemingly unaware he had voted yes. Three Republican lawmakers — Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas), Kelly Armstrong (N.D.) and Randy Weber (Texas) — tried to change Gooden’s vote for him. This is a big, big no-no.
According to a source who was on the floor, each of the three members tried to give a red “No” card to the House clerks in order to change Gooden’s vote. These old-style “teller cards” are a backup to the electronic voting system.
The floor clerks refused to accept the red cards from any of the three members. Proxy voting is allowed on the House floor, a member has to submit a letter authorizing that colleague to vote for them. The letter is then entered into the record and the vote read out loud.
But Gooden wasn’t voting by proxy. He cast his vote electronically and then left the floor. So what Gohmert, Armstrong and Weber did could potentially be a violation of House rules.
Gooden is an extra-thirsty Trump supporter, if his Twitter feed is any indication.
Proud of President Trump.
FOUR MORE YEARS!#SOTU pic.twitter.com/GFAthZQPNC
— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) February 5, 2020
Gooden voted with Republicans to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election hours after the deadly attack on the Capitol by insurrectionist Trump supporters.
Watch the vote above via C-Span.
