Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed reminds House Democrats to ‘do your job’ after they failed to show up during Pete Hegseth impeachment vote
No sugarcoating
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed had eight words for the 11 Democrats who missed a crucial vote in the effort to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth: “You should show up and do your job.” He made the remark during an appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.
On Tuesday, the House voted 211-204 to quash the impeachment effort against Hegseth, sending articles introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie back to committee. The outcome was widely attributed to the absence of 11 Democrats: Representatives Julia Brownley, Nancy Pelosi, Laura Gillen, Melanie Stansbury, Steven Horsford, Lou Correa, Jonathan Jackson, Brittany Pettersen, Marilyn Strickland, Haley Stevens, and Frederica Wilson.
According to The Hill, at least five Democrats who missed the vote said they couldn’t arrive due to similar reasons. Representative Melanie Stansbury’s official Instagram account said she, like other members of Congress, “was blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due to a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote.” The statement said she arrived just as the vote had “gaveled out” and immediately cast her “No” vote, which the Congressional Record registered.
El-Sayed also addressed Hegseth
Over the past few months, Congresspeople, former and current lawmakers, and members of the public have increasingly called for Hegseth to be removed from his current role. Tuesday’s verdict, however, dealt a major setback to those efforts. While discussing the verdict during the CNN interview, El-Sayed addressed Hegseth directly.
Looking into the camera, El-Sayed said, “Pete, really open question: why are you still doing this job?” He added, “You are really bad at this. You are failing your responsibility. You have mishandled this war, and nobody really understands what it is that you’re about every day. You’re talking about fighting a new culture war like you are supposed to be waging an actual war that is actually illegal on its own terms?”
He continued, “Just resign.” He added, “Make it easy for everybody instead of, in the end, getting taken out because that is clearly what’s happening. So, Pete, just take it from me, like, you’re not good at this.”
Democrats lash out at colleagues over no-show
After Tuesday, several sitting Democrat officials voiced their disappointment in their colleagues. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has become largely synonymous with the progressive movement in the United States, said, “It’s absolutely unacceptable that any vote would be lost on absences, like just period. It’s totally unacceptable, and we need to raise it up back again as soon as possible and make sure everyone gets on it,” according to The Hill.
Representative Ro Khanna, known largely for pursuing the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, also spoke out. He said, “On important votes, we’ve got to make clear that people have to come.”
Representative Rashida Tlaib, who is of Palestinian American descent and has often spoken about the Palestinian cause and taken steps in relation to the genocide, also weighed in. She said, “I understand there was difficulty getting to the Capitol because of an accident. But we’ve got to stay on our game, especially being in the majority, [to] make sure that we deliver the votes.”
It remains unclear whether Massie will introduce any additional articles on this matter.
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