Video posted to social media Sunday called into question Rep. Lauren Boebert’s excuse for missing the House vote on raising the federal debt ceiling.
The US House of Representatives voted last week on a bipartisan bill to raise the debt limit and cut federal spending in some areas after months of negotiations between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican , and President Joe Biden. The compromise legislation passed with bipartisan support, though several lawmakers from both parties voted against it.
Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, was one of four members of Congress who missed the vote. His absence quickly garnered attention as he was one of the most vocal critics of the bill who vowed to vote against it.
The congresswoman then tried to explain her absence from the vote in a video posted to Twitter on Saturday, describing her absence as a “no-show protest” and that she “refused to be a part” of the “crap of a bill.” .
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“Hey everyone, I’m back in Colorado, but let’s talk about DC,” Boebert said in the video. “No excuses, I was upset that they wouldn’t let me do my job so I didn’t vote. Once again the Washington power machine fed us a multi-million dollar bill, refused to allow debate or amendments, ignored everything for what that we fought in January to allow representatives to do their job.
However, Morgan Rimmer, associate producer for CNN, posted a video on Twitter Sunday afternoon that casts doubt on that explanation.
“Here’s a clip from that night outside the Capitol, showing Rep. Boebert running up the stairs like she’s trying to take the vote, and me telling her it’s closed,” Rimmer tweeted.
The video showed the Republican lawmaker running up the steps of the US Capitol building on the night of the vote, with Rimmer telling her “they shut it down,” referring to the vote on the bill. Boebert asks again, “Did they shut it down?” and she continues to run towards the Capitol.
Here’s a clip from that night outside the Capitol, showing Rep. Boebert running up the stairs like she’s trying to take the vote, and me telling her it’s closed.
*runs up the stairs*
Me: They closed it.
Boebert: Did they shut it down?
*Keep running* pic.twitter.com/HG76kWv7NJ—Morgan Rimmer (@morgan_rimmer) June 4, 2023
Boebert has not publicly addressed the video and news week reached Boebert’s office for comment via email.
Rimmer’s video appears to back up a tweet from Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke, who tweeted Wednesday night: “Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly missed the vote, walking up the steps just as the coup was being fired.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly missed the vote, running up the steps just as the sledgehammer was being given.
—Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) June 1, 2023
Boebert staunchly opposed the debt ceiling bill
Before missing the vote on the debt ceiling bill, Boebert was among the most vocal conservatives in the House who opposed the bill. Some on the right said the bill did not go far enough in cutting federal spending and that it would be fiscally irresponsible to pass the bill, despite the economic fallout that would follow a US-caused default. reaching that limit.
“Our base did not volunteer, they knocked on the door and fought so hard to get a majority for this type of compromise deal with Joe Biden,” the Colorado Republican tweeted ahead of the vote. “Our voters deserve better than this. We work for them. They can count me NO on this deal. We can do better.”
Boebert’s vote would not have made a difference on the bill, which passed the House 314-117. In all, 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted against the legislation, which has since been passed by the Senate and signed by Biden.