Two Republican members of Congress have come under scrutiny after skipping the House of Representatives’ swearing in ceremony Wednesday to meet with political donors at the Capitol Visitors Center. The gaffe is gaining critical traction among liberals who point out that the U.S. Constitution requires members to be sworn in before casting votes.
On Thursday, Rep. Pete Sessions made a motion to open debate on the GOP‘s plan to repeal the Obama administration’s 2010 health care overhaul — an action that can only be taken by an official member of Congress. Sessions, however, missed Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony while he and fellow Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick attended a fundraiser.
“That wasn’t planned. It just worked out that way,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. According to the Bucks County Courier Times, about 500 Fitzpatrick supporters were in attendance Wednesday for “Mike Fitzpatrick’s Swearing In Ceremony.”
Sessions currently serves as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign and fundraising organization.
Though Sessions and Fitzpatrick watched the House swearing-in ceremony on television in the Capitol Visitors Center with their hands raised, the Huffington Post points out that there is no provision in the Constitution that allows for a remote swearing-in.
Sessions currently serves as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign and fundraising organization.
Though Sessions and Fitzpatrick watched the House swearing-in ceremony on television in the Capitol Visitors Center with their hands raised, the Huffington Post points out that there is no provision in the Constitution that allows for a remote swearing-in.
Though the Huffington Post has characterized the evenr as a “fundraiser” and a website advertising the event said admittance was $30, Rep. Fitzpatrick’s office told The Blaze Thursday that the event was free to the public. “There was no fee to attend the event,” Fitzpatrick spokesman Darren Smith said. “Some people paid $30 for bus transportation to Washington, but the event was open to anyone who showed up, including several hundred people who drove down on their own.” By law, political fundraising is not allowed on capitol grounds.
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