September 20, 2016 | No Comments
Outgoing Rep. Tim Huelskamp is angry that he lost his primary — and he wants everyone in the House of Representatives to know it.
The ultra-conservative Kansas Republican took to the floor late Tuesday afternoon to force roll call votes on a series of noncontroversial bills being offered up by voice vote. It’s unclear how many of the more than 30 measures he will block from being passed by a simple voice vote Tuesday evening. But if he prevents voice votes on several dozen, the House would be required to hold roll calls on all of them, a tedious process which could take two or three hours.
Huelskamp’s latest move comes just a few days after he threatened to force a vote on the impeachment of the IRS commissioner, despite the fact that Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) struck a deal with Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) to postpone the vote until after the election.
Republicans, including some of his own friends, have noted that he’s become something of a loose canon since returning to Washington after being defeated in his primary in August.
“So much for all of Mr. Huelskamp’s rhetoric about the need for lame duck, members to go quietly into the night,” said one GOP official.
Establishment-aligned outside groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Joe Rickett’s “Ending Spending” group poured more than a million into Huelskamp’s race to defeat him. They said he was ineffective because he voted against everything, and argued his poor relationships in Washington got him kicked off the Agriculture Committee, a prized spot for his district.
Huelskamp blames House GOP leadership for not coming to his rescue. In recent days he’s openly criticized Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
On Tuesday afternoon, he sat in the back row of the House chamber, avoiding the C-SPAN cameras but asking for roll calls on bills. Usually lawmakers go down to the desk — in full view of the cameras — to request the yeas and nays.
Around 4:45 p.m., he had objected to about eight non-controversial measures, taking a break to allow post office dedication resolutions to be advanced forward. Then he started calling for roll calls again.
Around the capitol, one of the big questions staff and lawmakers were debating was whether he would force the IRS impeachment issue later this week.