House conservatives erupted in anger Tuesday night after a small bloc of Republican lawmakers sided with Democrats to block the censure of Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) — a move many in the GOP are calling nothing less than a swamp-style “backroom deal.”
The late-night vote, which failed 209–214, would have formally condemned Plaskett for her communications with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing. Although the measure was backed by the bulk of the Republican Conference, three GOP members — Reps. Don Bacon (NE), Lance Gooden (TX), and Dave Joyce (OH) — crossed the aisle to vote it down. Three other Republicans refused to take a stand and voted “present.”
Democrats had simultaneously attempted a counter-strike by introducing their own resolution to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) and strip him of his seat on the House Armed Services Committee, citing allegations ranging from domestic abuse to financial misconduct — claims Mills “denies” outright. But with the Plaskett measure defeated, Democrats are now expected to withdraw their effort against Mills, making the timing and voting behavior of those six Republicans look increasingly coordinated to furious members of the conservative flank.
Almost immediately, GOP lawmakers took to social media, the House floor, and the press to condemn what they see as an orchestrated attempt to shield Mills by sacrificing accountability for Plaskett — and doing it all behind closed doors.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) torched the move on X, writing: “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.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) was equally blunt, blasting the alleged quid-pro-quo as a stain on congressional integrity. “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. The first chance I get to speak to our leadership, I will give them a piece of my mind. And I doubt it will go anywhere. But they’re the most sewer-dwelling folks — not all of them, but some of them are. It’s just disgusting.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), never one to shy away from calling out corruption, confronted leadership directly from the House floor. “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,” she said.
Her remarks drew an enthusiastic off-mic cheer from Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO):
“Woot! Get it, girl!”
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
