Two Republicans Voted Before They Took Oath

Two Republicans voted before they took office
Rep. Pete Sessions: Oh, yeah, that oath of office thing. It only took two days for majority Republicans in the House to suffer their first embarrassment. Two of their members, including the House Republican campaign chairman, voted a half-dozen times in Wednesday’s opening session before they were sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions, the campaign chief, and Mike Fitzpatrick were at a reception in the Capitol Visitor Center when other members took the oath. The two men saw House Speaker John Boeh...

2 Republicans voted before they took oath
WASHINGTON—It only took two days for majority Republicans in the House to suffer their first embarrassment. Two of their members, including the House Republican campaign chairman, voted a half-dozen times in Wednesday's opening session before they were sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions, the campaign chief, and Mike Fitzpatrick were at a reception in the Capitol Visitor Center when other members took the oath. The two men saw House Speaker John Boehner swearing in members on television and rai...

Oops! Two Republicans Weren't Sworn In -- but Voted Anyway
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. (Credit: AP) This morning, the House Rules Committee started meeting to consider amendments to the Health Care Repeal bill being pushed by Republicans. Aides warned that the meeting would go all day thanks to Democratic opposition and amendments, and indeed, it dragged into the afternoon. That's when members realized they had a problem: One of the Republicans on the committee, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), was not officially a member of Congress. That's because he m...

GOP congressman from Pa. AWOL from swearing-in
WASHINGTON - When incoming House Speaker John Boehner administered the oath of office to the 112th Congress this week, two members were noticeably absent. One is from Bucks County. Mike Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) and Pete Sessions (R., Texas) left the House floor Wednesday afternoon to meet several hundred Fitzpatrick supporters in the House Visitors Center - and missed the official swearing-in. Both men raised a hand and swore the oath while watching Boehner on television from the room, said Fitzpa...

Two Republicans voted before they took oath
WASHINGTON—It only took two days for majority Republicans in the House to suffer their first embarrassment. Two of their members, including the House GOP campaign chairman, voted a half-dozen times in Wednesday's opening session before they were sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions of Texas, the campaign chief, and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were at a reception in the Capitol Visitor Center when other members took the oath. They were sworn in Thursday, but Republicans needed to craft a way...

2 Republicans voted before they took oath
WASHINGTON — It only took two days for majority Republicans in the House to suffer their first embarrassment. Two of their members, including the House GOP campaign chairman, voted a half-dozen times in Wednesday's opening session before they were sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions of Texas, the campaign chief, and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were at a reception in the Capitol Visitor Center when other members took the oath. They were sworn in Thursday, but Republicans needed to craft a ...

2 Republicans voted before they took oath (AP)
WASHINGTON – It only took two days for majority Republicans in the House to suffer their first embarrassment. Two of their members, including the House GOP campaign chairman, voted a half-dozen times in Wednesday's opening session before they were sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions of Texas, the campaign chief, and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were at a reception in the Capitol Visitor Center when other members took the oath. They were sworn in Thursday, but Republicans needed to craft a ...

GOP found to violate Constitution on same day document is read on House floor
Two Republican lawmakers were found on Thursday to have violated the Constitution on the same day both parties read the document on the floor of the House of Representatives. What Democrats and Republicans did by reading the Constitution is admirable and there is nothing wrong with anybody being re-familiarized with the document. With that said, the Republicans’ campaign Rhetoric of strictly adhering to the Constitution to limit the size of government is nothing but a symbolic gesture to p...

Congressmen Who Skipped Swearing-in Stall GOP Health Reform Repeal
ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe reports: Oops. Somehow two Republicans yesterday neglected to get sworn in as new members of Congress. A photo on www.phillyburbs.com shows, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas with Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were on Capitol Hill but during the swearing-in ceremony they were not in the House chamber but rather in front of a television in the Visitors Gallery. Today Sessions and Fitzpatrick were on the House floor, voting and reading the Constitution - just like ...

2 House Republicans not sworn in, vote
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Two Republican House members, including a leader on the Rules Committee, cast votes on the U.S. House floor despite missing Wednesday's swearing-in ceremony. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas, who was appointed to the Rules Committee, and Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., each cast six votes whose validity is in question, since both men were absent from the general swearing-in conducted by House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Polit...

Two House Republicans miss swearing in but still vote
Washington (CNN) - Two Republican House members voted several times Thursday despite missing their official swearing in on the House floor a day earlier - a day the Republicans had required that the Constitution be read aloud on the House floor. Reps. Pete Sessions of Texas and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were attending a reception for Fitzpatrick's constituents in a room on the Capitol campus - and took the oath of office while watching the floor proceedings on television. Fit...

House plans test vote Friday on health care repeal
Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, attends the House Rules Committee meeting regarding floor debate on Legislation that would Repeal the Health Care overhaul bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011. The House opens a largely symbolic debate Friday on whether to Repeal President Barack Obama's landmark Health Care overhaul, the culmination of the first week with Republicans back in charge. A procedural vote around midday will set the rules for formal debate and final action next Wed...

First gaffe for House GOP
Big Read: House reads Constitution, interruptions and all. WASHINGTON — It took only two days for majority Republicans in the House to suffer their first embarrassment. Two of their members voted a half- dozen times Wednesday before they were sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions, the House Republican campaign chairman, and Mike Fitzpatrick were at a reception when other members took the oath. The two men saw House Speaker John Boehner swearing in members on television and raised their hands befo...

GOP rejects cost estimate of repealing health plan
WASHINGTON — Rescinding the new health-care law, the first objective of House Republicans who ascended to power this week, would ratchet up the federal Deficit by about $230 billion over the next decade and leave 32 million more Americans Uninsured, according to congressional Budget analysts. The rough estimate by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also predicts that most Americans would pay more for private Health Insurance if the law were repealed. The 10-page forecast was delivered...

Two Republicans voted before they took oath
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House Republicans, including the campaign committee chief, voted a half-dozen times Wednesday before they were officially sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions of Texas and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were at a reception in the Capitol Visitors Center when other members took the oath. Their embarrassment was evident Thursday at the House Rules Committee, which had to recess for an hour so Republicans could find a way to fix the problem. The Republican-run committee, whic...

Congressional Calendar January 7, 2010
House Republicans plan to take the first step towards overturning the Health Care overhaul law passed by the last Congress on Friday. They'll be discussing and voting on the terms of debate for bills to Repeal and to "instruct the relevant committees" to formulate Legislation to replace the so-called ObamaCare health plan. There will be some discussion about the contents of the Repeal and replace bills, but much of the talk will be about how the measures arrived on the floor. Democrats say Repub...

Votes of GOP lawmakers who missed swearing-in ruled invalid
The votes cast during the first days of the congressional session by two Republican lawmakers who skipped Wednesday's swearing-in ceremony will be invalidated, House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) said Thursday. Dreier made the announcement at a meeting of the Rules Committee after it became clear that Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) had cast votes during the first two days of the 112th Congress despite having not technically been sworn into office. A...

GOP lawmakers miss oath, still vote
Two Republicans, including a member of the GOP leadership, voted on the House floor several times despite not having been sworn in, throwing the House into parliamentary turmoil Thursday — the same day the Constitution was read aloud on the floor. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) missed the mass swearing-in ceremony on the House floor Wednesday but proceeded to cast a series of votes. Sessions, app...

On Same Day GOP Reads Constitution On House Floor, GOP Forgets To Swear In Two Reps...But They Vote Anyway!
Yup, they really love the Constitution. On the same day they make the hugely gratuitous and emptily symbolic gesture of demanding that the Constitution be read on the House floor, the GOP leadership forgets to swear in two members of Congress. Undaunted, those unofficial congressmen had no problem participating in their first votes. Two House Republicans have cast votes as members of the 112th Congress, but were not sworn in on Wednesday, a violation of the Constitution on the same day that the ...

Dems pounce on CBO repeal estimate
Democrats head into the first House Health Care reform Repeal vote today with fresh ammo: a Congressional Budget Office estimate that Repeal would increase the Deficit by $230 billion by 2021. Hours after the number dropped Thursday, Democrats had spun it into a strong, new talking point: Repealing Health Care will wreak havoc on The Economy. Republicans, meanwhile, cried foul, taking shots at the CBO’s Accounting methods. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico 44 The House Rules...

Swearing-in Glitch Holds Up House Action on Health Repeal
Yahoo! Buzz Details, details. Two House Republicans, Reps. Pete Sessions of Texas and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, missed Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony and caused a stir when they went on to cast votes and take part in committee activities today. Mr. Sessions was at a House Rules Committee hearing on repealing last year’s health-care overhaul when the problem surfaced. The panel had to stop its business at the urging of House parliamentarians. This may seem like a minor proce...

If only they'd read the Constitution sooner
IF ONLY THEY'D READ THE CONSTITUTION SOONER.... Boy, these guys really are off to a great start, aren't they? Two House Republicans have cast votes as members of the 112th Congress, but were not sworn in on Wednesday, a violation of the Constitution on the same day that the GOP had the document read from the podium. The Republicans, Incumbent Pete Sessions of Texas and freshman Mike Fitzpatrick, missed the swearing in, but watched it on television from the Capitol Visitors Center. "That wasn'...

Two Republicans voted before they took oath
Two House Republicans, including the campaign committee chief, voted a half-dozen times Wednesday before they were officially sworn in. Reps. Pete Sessions of Texas and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were at a reception in the Capitol Visitors Center when other members took the oath. Their embarrassment was evident Thursday at the House Rules Committee, which had to recess for an hour so Republicans could find a way to fix the problem. The Republican-run committee, which was considering debate...

The fox is guarding the hens: Republicans in the House
Today, a newly elected Republican Representative, Pete Sessions (R-TX), ignored legislative rules and offered a motion to constitute a rules committee before having taken the oath of office.  Adding further embarrassment for newly elected Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), it was also learned that Representative Sessions had participated in several votes before swearing in.  Convening the rules committee is part of the strategy aimed to Repeal the Health Care Reform Law of 2010.  Repeal...

The 112th Congress might have to start all over again (The Ticket)
Here's something John Boehner might feel the need to cry about: Just two days into the 112th Congress, there's a chance that the House might have to do all of its voting — including the roll call to elect a new Speaker — all over again. Per Roll Call's Anna Palmer, House GOP leaders learned today that two of its members — Texas Rep. Pete Sessions and freshman Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — weren't on the House floor yesterday during the official swearing-in ceremony. According