Politics- Lauren Boebert missed the vote to raise the debt ceiling after criticizing the deal for weeks.
- The House passed the bill 314-117, but Boebert failed to appear and vote no as pledged.
Despite vocally opposing the deal for weeks, Rep. Lauren Boebert is unable to explain why she missed Wednesday's pivotal vote to raise the federal debt ceiling.
The Colorado Republican emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the agreement brokered by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden. The deal lifts the debt limit for two years, avoiding an economic catastrophe if the U.S. defaulted on its debts.
As local Colorado reporter Spencer Soicher pointed out, she tweeted her displeasure about the deal 23 times in the week leading up to the House vote.
Boebert blasted the compromise as "fake news and fake talking points" that failed to cut government spending. She pledged to vote against it, saying, "If every Republican voted the way that they campaigned, they would vote against tomorrow's bad deal."
Yet when the roll was called in the House Wednesday night, Boebert wasn't in the chamber. The bill was passed 314-117, with the support of 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats, and 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats opposing.
Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly missed the vote, running up the steps right as they gaveled.
— Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) June 1, 2023
Since missing the house vote, she has not Tweeted about the debt ceiling at all. Her last tweet was on June 1, stating "I'm proud to be an American."
Boebert's unexplained absence got plenty of ridicule online, including from her recent election opponent Adam Frisch. "How can you represent #CO03 when you don't even show up?" he tweeted. "What was more important than voting?"
How can you represent #CO03 when you don’t even show up?
— Adam Frisch for CD-3 (@AdamForColorado) June 1, 2023
What was more important than voting? https://t.co/txFyN21ukR
On Thursday night, the Senate approved the deal, sending it to Joe Biden's desk for his signature and all but assuring the deal will pass.
In a statement posted to her website, Boebert doubled down on her opposition to debt ceiling compromise but didn't directly address her failure to vote. "The House passing this so-called 'deal' was another example of the Swamp shoving a $6-plus trillion blank check for Biden down Americans' throats," she said.
She made an oblique reference to failing to vote by saying she wasn't scared to vote no: "I certainly wasn't afraid to vote against the bill, as I have been advocating against it all week."
"I voted against the rule to consider the bill," she continued. "I advocated against it publicly, and I will continue to call out the Swamp for selling out our conservative principles and mortgaging the American dream."
Correction: June 2, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated the total vote count for the debt ceiling bill in the House. The bill passed 314-117, with the support of 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats, and 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats opposing — not with the support of 71 Republicans and all Democrats.