War brews as GOP members clash over glut of fresh accusations: report

Already facing criticism for taking an extended vacation to avoid voting on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, House Republicans returned to work — and have been spending their days pushing censure motions against both Democrats and their own colleagues.

That has some House Republicans furious as the see colleagues skip the House Ethics Committee to rush to judgment without due process.

According to a report from the Washington Post, there is a war brewing among House Republicans aimed at grandstanding members within the caucus who use their censure motions as a way to raise their profiles.

As a “bipartisan group of members is trying to address the growing frustration” after a week of censure motions, the Post reported that some members are going public with their frustrations.

Publicity-seeking Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) unsuccessful attempt to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) for “a range of offenses” ended up being forwarded to the Ethics Committee — and that is the way it should be handled, some House members asserted.

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX), who voted against the censure of Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett filed by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), said, “Censures mean nothing here. Removing from committees does and should only be done after Ethics does its work, and I’m not participating in committee removal outside of the Ethics Committee process ever again.”

Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) agreed and added that the spate of motions has become “ridiculous.”

The Ohio Republican, who previously served on the Ethics Committee, complained, “We have the important business in this country to do, and we’re not doing it because we’re wasting time on events like this.”

"Even members who have introduced censures said the procedure is overused. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), who unsuccessfully tried to censure Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) after she was indicted for an incident at an ICE facility, said the House has gotten ‘carried away’ with censures,” the Post reported.

It added, “Higgins dodged his own censure last year after he made comments demeaning Haitians on social media as 'thugs' who eat pets. He walked back his comments, and the censure motion against him — pushed by the Congressional Black Caucus — never got a vote.”