Source: Congresswoman Erin Houchin / Congresswoman Erin Houchin
WASHINGTON — Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN-9th) found herself in a debate that escalated into a clash over how lawmakers can address former President Trump’s criminal hush money trial while on the House floor on Wednesday.
The back-and-forth began with a debate over a set of bills recently passed by the House Rules Committee, of which Houchin is a member. Houchin led the debate from the Republican side of the aisle. Two of the bills have to do with efforts for the U.S. to enact a more structured regulatory system of cryptocurrency and digital assets.
“There is no clear current market structure for the regulation of digital assets in the United States,” Houchin said. “This leaves digital asset innovators and consumers to play a guessing game.”
Democrats, whose counterirritants were led by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), accused Republicans of trying to stifle crypto innovation with the bills. McGovern went as far as to accuse Republicans of wanting to “go back to stone tablets” when it comes to regulating currency.
The debate took a heated turn when the third part of the rules package was brought up which has to do with Republicans wanting to block the District of Columbia from allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. A D.C. city ordinance allowing that was recently upheld by a federal judge.
“Why would we want to allow Russian, or China, or any foreign agent to vote on any policies that impact the U.S. Capitol,” Houchin asked.
McGovern accused Republicans of engaging in hypocrisy.
“They spend more time worrying about Washington, D.C. than they do their own constituents,” he said. “It’s astonishing to me that the party that claims to care about small government and local control wants to have the federal government tell local leaders here in D.C. how to run their own elections.”
McGovern called the proposal an “indictment” on the election system in the U.S. and then equated that “indictment” to those that former President Trump is facing. He then engaged in a pointed address about how Republicans have been backing the former president.
Rep. Jerry Koal, who was chairing the House session, then admonished McGovern for engaging in personalities against Trump since he is a former president. McGovern then responded asking for clarification accusing Republicans of doing the same thing when it comes to his criminal hush money trial.
As the back-and-forth between he and Koal continued, in which McGovern said he was listing facts about Trump’s trials, Houchin spoke up and demanded McGovern’s words be taken down, a point of parliamentary procedure in which a speaker’s words can be stricken from the record. After consulting with House parliamentarians, Koal ruled to do just that. Soon after McGovern was barred from speaking on the House floor for the remainder of the day by a 204-203 vote.
Lawmakers then proceeded to pass Houchin’s rules package that had been debated prior to the drama surrounding McGovern.
