GOP lawmakers want to punish the 13 Republicans who voted for Biden's infrastructure bill by kicking them off congressional committees, report says

• 13 House Republicans voted for Biden's infrastructure bill, which ultimately allowed it to pass.
• Republicans on the far right of the GOP House caucus are furious at them.

Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives are expecting a bid to punish the 13 Republicans who voted for President Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by stripping them of committee assignments, according to a report.

Punchbowl News reported that some Republican lawmakers were determined to take action against the 13, several of whom are ranking members or senior Republicans on House committees or subcommittees.

The report did not detail what level of support the move might have as of Tuesday morning.

Under House rules, a party's steering committee has the power to recommend that a lawmaker be removed from committee assignments, which is then subject to a vote by the caucus and the full House.

It is a punishment that has historically been reserved for lawmakers who have been accused of crimes, or been involved with extremism.

The support of the 13 Republicans was ultimately vital for the infrastructure bill passing into law last week, with six Democrats voting against it amid a monthslong dispute in the party over a connected bill that is being stalled in the Senate. The infrastructure bill was passed by the Senate in a bipartisan vote in June.

The move to take action against the 13 Republicans who supported the infrastructure bill highlights the fury of some GOP lawmakers against party colleagues for backing Biden's legislation.

Several hardline loyalists to former President Donald Trump on the far right of the GOP House caucus, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, have been publicly critical of the 13 lawmakers. Trump himself has also criticized them.

"Here are the 'Republicans' that just voted to help Biden screw America," Greene tweeted last week, branding them "traitors, and sharing pictures and phone numbers of them.

In an Monday CNN interview, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan - one of the 13 Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill - played a threatening message he'd received after the vote.

"I'll tell you it's a terrible way - we have seen civility really downslide here. I'm concerned about my staff. They are taking these calls," he said.

There has long been tensions in the GOP between centrists and Trump loyalists. In May, Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from her leadership role in the House GOP over her criticism of Trump and his baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election.