Health issues keep three of Florida’s 27 representatives from voting in challenge.
Health issues prevented three of Florida’s 27 representatives from voting when the House took up challenges to electoral college votes from two states won by President- elect Joe Biden.
The missing lawmakers didn’t affect the outcome. The challenges were part of an attempt by President Donald Trump to overturn his election loss, were never expected to pass, and didn’t even get the support of many Republicans.
Among those not voting late Wednesday night and Thursday morning was U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Broward/ Palm Beach county Democrat. Hastings, 84, first elected in 1992, is the longest- serving member of the U.S. House from Florida. Hastings, who has pancreatic cancer, is a fierce critic of Trump.
He remained at home in South Florida, “pursuant to guidance from my doctor,” he said through an email from his chief of staff.
“President Trump’ s inability to accept his loss does not change the facts: # America Has Spoken, the House and Senate will certified President- elect Biden’s historic victory,” he wrote Wednesday morning on Twitter before Trump incited his supporters to swamp the Capitol and disrupt the proceedings.
Writing on Twitter on Wednesday evening, Hastings condemned the insurrection — and Trump. “Today’s violence on Capitol Hill was outrageous, shameful, and a complete assault on our democracy. The 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a President. @ realDonaldTrump must be removed from office immediately!”
Hastings is a member of the new Congress, which was sworn in Sunday. A member of Congress can be sworn in outside Washington, D. C., if authorized by the speaker. Hastings said he was sworn in by a close colleague, U. S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents an adjacent district.
“I am honored to have been elected t o serve another term in Congress and proudly represent the people of Florida’s 20th District,” he said.
COVID- 19 kept two other Florida lawmakers away.
Maria Elvira Salazar, a Miami- Dade County Republican elected to her first term in November, hasn’t yet been sworn in.
“While I am in Miami recovering from COVID- 19, I’m deeply troubled by what is happening in Washington. I am praying for the safety of my colleagues & our law enforcement. There is absolutely no place for violence and rioting in the U. S. Capitol!” she wrote on Twitter.
U. S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Republican whose district is north and west of Tampa, said Wednesday on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID- 19 earlier in the day and would not be participating. His sentiments are clear: The most prominent image on his campaign’s website is a large photo featuring Trump.
Some lawmakers quarantining from COVID- 19 voted from a Plexiglass enclosure. The Miami Herald reported U. S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents part of South Broward and Miami-Dade County, voted from the booth Thursday morning. Wilson called Wednesday for Trump’s impeachment.
Other Florida lawmakers
Lawmakers voted mostly along party lines.
With Trump’s strong election win in Florida in November and the expectation that he’ll make his Mar- a- Lago Club in Palm Beach his home base, at least initially after leaving office, most Florida Republicans don’t want to antagonize him or his supporters.
All Florida Democratic House members voted to uphold Biden’s victory.
All but t wo Florida Republicans supported the challenge to Biden’s electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Republican U. S. Reps. Ver n Buchanan, who represents Sarasota and the Gulf Coast south of Tampa- St. Petersburg, and Mike Waltz, who represents northeast Florida including the Space Coast, voted against the challenge.
Waltz was among the lawmakers who issued a statement Wednesday morning vowing to support the election challenges. After the Trump supporters’ violent rampage at the Capitol, he changed his mind.
U. S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R- Fla., voted against the challenges. U. S. Sen. Rick Scott, R- Fla., voted i n support of one challenge ( Pennsylvania) and against the other ( Arizona). Rubio and Scott both harbor presidential ambitions of their own.