House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern on Wednesday defended his 2017 objection to President Trump’s electoral votes from Alabama as a “protest” as he sparred with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan during House debate the parameters for debating the latest article of impeachment against Trump.
Jordan, R-Ohio, a staunch Trump ally, began the war of words by attacking McGovern, D-Mass., in his floor comments.
“In his opening remarks, the Democrat chair of the Rules Committee said that Republicans last week voted to overturn the results of an election. Guess who the first objector was on Jan. 6, 2017?” Jordan said. “First objector, the Democrat chair of the Rules Committee. And guess what state he objected to? Alabama, the very first state called.”
Jordan continued: “They can object to Alabama in 2017, but tell us we can’t object to Pennsylvania in 2021? Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court just unilaterally extended the election to Friday? Pennsylvania, where the secretary of state unilaterally changed the rules, went around the legislature in an unconstitutional fashion?”
Jordan also noted that Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., in 2017 lodged an Electoral College objection as well. Raskin is one of the Democrat impeachment managers named this week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Raskin’s objection was that 10 of Florida’s electors held other offices in the state, allegedly violating state law. Neither Raskin’s nor McGovern’s objections went anywhere because they were not backed by a senator.
“Americans are tired of the double standard,” Jordan added. “They are so tired of it. Democrats objected to more states in 2017 than Republicans did last week. But somehow we’re wrong.”
Jordan also said Democrats were being hypocritical by raising bail for “rioters and looters all summer. But somehow when Republicans condemn all the violence — the violence this week, the violence last summer — somehow, we’re wrong.”
McGovern responded by saying Democrats’ objections were a “protest” over Russian interference in the 2016 election.