House Republicans erupted in frustration late Tuesday after a failed attempt to censure a Democratic colleague exposed sharp internal fractures and ignited accusations of political dealmaking meant to shield one of their own.
The uproar followed a narrow 209–214 vote rejecting a measure to censure Representative Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands. The resolution targeted Plaskett for having exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing — a point Republicans sought to frame as unbecoming of a member entrusted with oversight responsibilities. The measure failed after three Republicans — Representatives Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas, and Dave Joyce of Ohio — broke ranks and joined Democrats in opposition. Three additional Republicans voted “present,” further sealing the effort’s defeat.
Democrats, for their part, had introduced a countermeasure aimed at Representative Cory Mills, a Florida Republican. Their resolution sought not only to censure Mills but to remove him from the House Armed Services Committee, citing a series of allegations including domestic abuse, stolen valor, and financial impropriety. Mills has denied all allegations. But with the Plaskett measure defeated, the Democratic effort is expected to be withdrawn, leaving Republicans seething over what they describe as an arrangement that ultimately protected Mills by sparing Plaskett.
Several Republicans publicly lambasted their colleagues, accusing them of participating in a quiet agreement designed to prevent Mills from facing the same level of scrutiny. For these lawmakers, the failed censure represented less a single procedural loss than evidence of a deeper institutional rot — one in which political expediency supersedes both transparency and disciplinary consistency.
Tonight, a handful of Republicans took a dive on a vote to strip Stacy Plaskett of her position on House intel because of her ties to Epstein. They did it to protect a Republican facing his own ethics issues from a similar vote. This backroom deal shit is swampy, wrong and always…
— Kat Cammack (@Kat_Cammack) November 19, 2025
Representative Kat Cammack of Florida sharply rebuked the defecting Republicans on X, writing that “a handful of Republicans took a dive on a vote to strip Stacy (sic) Plaskett of her position on House intel because of her ties to Epstein.” She continued, “They did it to protect a Republican facing his own ethics issues from a similar vote. This backroom deal sh*t is swampy, wrong and always deserves to be called out.”
The criticism was echoed by Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who said the arrangement amounted to lawmakers shielding one another from accountability. “What they did was they cut a deal on an ethics vote on another Republican,” he said. “It’s really disgusting. I get disgusted about some things, but this is one that’s really bad. … It’s bogus, and it stinks.” Burchett added that he intended to confront party leadership directly, describing some of its members as “sewer-dwelling folks.”
On the House floor, Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida leveled a pointed challenge toward the chamber’s leadership, questioning why Democrats and Republicans alike would cooperate to “cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives.” Her remarks prompted an audible cheer from Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who shouted, “Woot! Get it, girl!”
The Plaskett censure failed because house leadership exchanged the vote to protect a republican that’s having a lot of issues and should NOT seek re-election.
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 19, 2025
The evening’s events underscored persistent agitation within the Republican conference, where ideological divides and power struggles have repeatedly spilled into public view. Even for a chamber accustomed to partisan combat, the latest dispute revealed a rare level of intra-party mistrust — and signaled that the GOP may face further turbulence as members wrestle with how, and whether, to police their own.
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