Jan. 17 (UPI) — Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, of New York, introduced a resolution Wednesday to censure Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, also of New York, for “conduct unbecoming” of a member of Congress, citing her support of Jan. 6 defendants who she has referred to as “hostages.”
“I rise today to introduce a resolution to censure Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for providing aid, comfort and support to the rioters and insurrectionists who violently attacked this Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to undermine our democracy and illegally stop the peaceful transfer of power,” Goldman announced from the House floor Wednesday.
“January 6th was the gravest attack on American democracy since the Civil War, and Congresswoman Stefanik’s persistent and continued support for the perpetrators of an insurrection is contemptuous,” Goldman added in a statement.
In her “reference to the criminally convicted January 6 insurrectionists as ‘hostages,’ Congresswoman Stefanik both demeans the actual hostages currently held in captivity in Gaza and provides support for those who attacked the Capitol,” Goldman said.
Goldman also cited Stefanik raising concerns about the 2020 election results and her criticism of special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case against Trump.
“Her rhetoric betrays her oath of office and the House of Representatives and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” Goldman concluded.
Stefanik hit back Wednesday in a post on X.
“Desperate corrupt far left House Democrats are attempting to force a vote to censure me for my unwavering support of the Constitution, the rule of law and election integrity,” Stefanik wrote.
Stefanik also linked a fundraising page which claims she is being retaliated against for “exposing Joe Biden and the Democrats’ lies and corruption” and for “her unwavering defense of President Trump.”
A censure in the House, which is a form of public humiliation to rebuke a member for a specified misconduct, has been approved 27 times throughout history.
In the past year, the House has voted to censure three of its members, including Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for his role in Democrats’ past investigations into former President Donald Trump; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., for comments made on the Israel-Hamas war; and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., for pulling a fire alarm in a House office building.