Illinois Congressman Jonathan Jackson was one of 11 Democrats absent when the House voted on the impeachment effort. He now calls his absence “inexcusable”, while colleagues have criticised those who missed the ballot.
A Democratic congressman who said a traffic jam stopped him voting on the effort to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was seen outside the Capitol shortly before the vote closed, according to TMZ. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois was one of 11 Democrats who did not cast a ballot on Tuesday night. In a statement, he said “a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus caused a delay that resulted in the vote closing” before he could reach the chamber. TMZ said it saw him “right outside the Capitol with time to spare”, filming a social media video on the Capitol steps minutes before the vote ended.
Jackson’s response
When TMZ approached him on Wednesday, Mr Jackson still pointed to the traffic but called his absence “inexcusable”. He said the Capitol steps become “a very chaotic area” when Congress is in session.
“It’s not making an excuse for it, I should’ve been able to make the vote, it was procedural,” he said. He added that he was the first member of Congress to call on Mr Hegseth to resign. “It was a mistake and I wish I could answer you in any more detail but I support the removal of Pete Hegseth,” he said, before walking away.
The vote
The House voted 211 to 204, with Republican Thomas Massie, who filed the articles of impeachment, the only Republican to signal support. The New York Times reported that Republicans had feared that absences on their own side would let the impeachment move forward. The 11 missing Democrats, including Mr Jackson, would potentially have been enough to take the first step towards removing Mr Hegseth from the Pentagon had they attended.
Other absences
Several of the missing members also blamed traffic. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, Laura Gillen of New York, Marilyn Strickland of Washington and Julia Brownley of California all cited it, and other Democrats said a police escort for a bus held up access to the Capitol during the vote. Ms Brownley claimed that Mr Johnson closed the vote before they could arrive.
Lou Correa of California said he was missing votes because he was having a medical procedure and was staying home “on my doctor’s advice”. Steven Horsford of Nevada cited a “personal emergency” that delayed his arrival.
Nancy Pelosi flew back to California on Tuesday, SFGate reported. Her spokesperson, Ian Krager, said she supports the effort and would have moved the impeachment forward, but was being honoured by a local veterans’ group. “Speaker Emerita Pelosi returned to San Francisco to join and honor local veterans at Swords to Plowshares’ 30th Annual Veterans Day Celebration tonight, an important and longstanding district tradition she regularly attends and will mark for the last time as a Member of Congress by receiving the Lifetime Advocate for Veterans Award,” he said. Swords to Plowshares is a Bay Area non-profit that provides services to veterans.
Anger among Democrats
Many Democrats were furious with the absent members after the effort fell short. California Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove said: “We knew that this vote was coming, so people should have gotten their raggedy selves up these steps to vote.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: “I don’t know why people weren’t here. Someone may have a health issue. I don’t know. But obviously, having a vote like that on attendance is hard. That hurts.”
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan told CNN: “You should show up and do your job.”
