House Republicans are seething after a small bloc of their own sided with Democrats to sink a censure effort that targeted Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D–VI), a lawmaker who notoriously exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 Oversight Committee hearing.
The vote collapsed late Tuesday night, 209–214, after three GOP members—Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas, and Dave Joyce of Ohio—crossed party lines. Three more Republicans refused to take a side and voted “present.”
The failed censure immediately ignited outrage inside the GOP conference, where many members say the vote was sabotaged by an insider pact designed to shield another Republican from facing his own disciplinary action.
Democrats had introduced a retaliatory measure to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) and remove him from the House Armed Services Committee, citing a laundry list of allegations, including domestic abuse, stolen valor, and financial misconduct—claims Mills firmly rejects. Now, with the Plaskett measure dead, the push against Mills is expected to be withdrawn, which only fueled suspicions about a prearranged political trade.
Several Republicans didn’t mince words, blasting the maneuver as a textbook example of the D.C. swamp protecting its own.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) vented openly, writing on X: “Tonight, a handful of Republicans took a dive on a vote to strip Stacy (sic) Plaskett of her position on House intel because of her ties to Epstein. They did it to protect a Republican facing his own ethics issues from a similar vote. This backroom deal sh*t is swampy, wrong and always deserves to be called out.”
Tonight, a handful of Republicans took a dive on a vote to strip Stacy Plaskett of her position on House intel because of her ties to Epstein. They did it to protect a Republican facing his own ethics issues from a similar vote. This backroom deal shit is swampy, wrong and always…
— Kat Cammack (@Kat_Cammack) November 19, 2025
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) echoed the anger with even sharper language, accusing colleagues of cutting a secret arrangement to shield Mills: “What they did was they cut a deal on an ethics vote on another Republican,” he said. “It’s really disgusting. I get disgusted about some things, but this is one that’s really bad. … It’s bogus, and it stinks.” He added that he intends to confront leadership directly: “The first chance I get to speak to our leadership, I will give them a piece of my mind… They’re the most sewer-dwelling folks — not all of them, but some of them are. It’s just disgusting.”
I am totally disgusted with this bunch of losers. pic.twitter.com/ws5EMmauCv
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) November 19, 2025
The frustration spilled onto the House floor itself when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) demanded answers in full public view: “I was wondering if the Speaker of the House can explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting back-end deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives.”
The Plaskett censure failed because house leadership exchanged the vote to protect a republican that’s having a lot of issues and should NOT seek re-election.
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) November 19, 2025
In the background, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) could be heard cheering Luna on with an enthusiastic: “Woot! Get it, girl!”
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