The all-night marathon passage of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda nearly didn’t happen after one GOP lawmaker was found sound asleep and missed a critical vote.
Rep. Andrew Garabino (R-NY), who represents Long Island and parts of New York’s 2nd Congressional District, was not present when Republicans barely passed the legislation in a dramatic 215-214 vote Thursday morning. Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman immediately noticed that Garabino, one of the fiercest advocates for expansion of the SALT deduction, wasn’t on the roll call.
A statement by his spokesperson blamed Garabino’s absence on an unfortunately timed nap.
“After sitting through proceedings all night, the Congressman briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote. He was present throughout the lead-up to the legislation’s consideration and fully intended to support it. This is one of many reasons why governing should happen in the light of day—not in the dead of night,” the statement read.
The all-night marathon passage of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda nearly didn’t happen after one GOP lawmaker was found sound asleep and missed a critical vote.
Rep. Andrew Garabino (R-NY), who represents Long Island and parts of New York’s 2nd Congressional District, was not present when Republicans barely passed the legislation in a dramatic 215-214 vote Thursday morning. Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman immediately noticed that Garabino, one of the fiercest advocates for expansion of the SALT deduction, wasn’t on the roll call.
A statement by his spokesperson blamed Garabino’s absence on an unfortunately timed nap.
“After sitting through proceedings all night, the Congressman briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote. He was present throughout the lead-up to the legislation’s consideration and fully intended to support it. This is one of many reasons why governing should happen in the light of day—not in the dead of night,” the statement read.
Johnson, ever a statesman, confirmed to Sherman that Garabino missed the vote but did not publicly reprimand his fellow Republican.
At 40 years old, Garabino is on the younger side of Congress, making his disappearing act all the more embarrassing considering that the senior lawmakers were able to stay awake and alert long enough to vote around 6 a.m. EST.
The all-night marathon passage of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda nearly didn’t happen after one GOP lawmaker was found sound asleep and missed a critical vote.
Rep. Andrew Garabino (R-NY), who represents Long Island and parts of New York’s 2nd Congressional District, was not present when Republicans barely passed the legislation in a dramatic 215-214 vote Thursday morning. Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman immediately noticed that Garabino, one of the fiercest advocates for expansion of the SALT deduction, wasn’t on the roll call.
A statement by his spokesperson blamed Garabino’s absence on an unfortunately timed nap.
“After sitting through proceedings all night, the Congressman briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote. He was present throughout the lead-up to the legislation’s consideration and fully intended to support it. This is one of many reasons why governing should happen in the light of day—not in the dead of night,” the statement read.
Johnson, ever a statesman, confirmed to Sherman that Garabino missed the vote but did not publicly reprimand his fellow Republican.
At 40 years old, Garabino is on the younger side of Congress, making his disappearing act all the more embarrassing considering that the senior lawmakers were able to stay awake and alert long enough to vote around 6 a.m. EST.
Republicans who sided with Democrats in opposing the bill were Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH), both fiscal conservatives who have expressed alarm about the $4 trillion price tag of the legislation. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), one of the advocates for a greater SALT deduction, voted present.
Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) joined Garabino in not voting, according to the roll call, though it’s unclear why.
A visit by President Trump to Capitol Hill on Wednesday was his final attempt to cajole both conservatives and moderates into line after tense negotiations threatened to derail Thursday’s vote. According to sources who spoke with Politico, he offered stark threats and mockery over their divergent wishes for deeper cuts to Medicaid and an increased cap on SALT.
Online, some of the vote observers were stunned to learn that none of Garabino’s staffers were able to stay with him to keep him awake for the vote.
“I would not want to be any of Garbarino’s staffers (some of whom I know,) There is no way this would have happened in the old days as most Members would demand several key staffers to stay with them during something like this,” one X user wrote.
“What a perfect metaphor for Congress,” joked another.
Another acknowledged that reelection life will be tougher for the New York Republican next year.
“Well that campaign attack ad just wrote itself,” they added.
