House leaders rush Rep. Wesley Hunt to Capitol to cast decisive vote on Venezuela measure

House leaders rushed Representative Wesley Hunt, Republican of Texas, to the Capitol with a Capitol Police escort on Thursday evening so he could cast the decisive vote on a resolution that would have barred President Trump from taking military action in Venezuela without congressional approval.

Speaker Mike Johnson held the vote open for 22 minutes while Democrats heckled, needing one more Republican to oppose the measure to defeat it, and dispatched a police escort to bring Mr. Hunt from a Washington-area airport to the floor. According to GovTrack, Mr. Hunt has missed 95 percent of roll call votes since Dec.

18, showing up for three of 58 votes during that period; he announced a primary challenge to Senator John Cornyn in October. Mr. Hunt’s campaign issued a news release celebrating his appearance, saying he “left the campaign trail, rushed to Washington, and cast the decisive vote” and claiming that his absences had never stopped a Republican measure from passing.

Democrats on the floor vocally criticized the delay — Representative Pat Ryan shouted “Pathetic” — and Matt Mackowiak, a spokesman for Mr. Cornyn’s campaign, said Mr. Hunt was “refusing to fight for Trump’s agenda by putting his selfish political ambitions before his responsibilities.” The campaign release echoed Mr.

Key Topics

Politics, Wesley Hunt, Venezuela, Mike Johnson, John Cornyn, Capitol Police