US Rep. Lauren Boebert is one fiery opponent of raising the country’s debt ceiling to avoid default, but she did not cast her vote on the issue on Wednesday.
The House legislation passed to raise the government’s debt ceiling on Wednesday just days before a critical deadline that would hurt the country’s creditworthiness And, economists warn, trigger a recession. The vote came after days of tense negotiations between House Republicans and President Joe Biden’s administration. The Senate has yet to approve the measure.
The bill passed the House 314 to 117 with bipartisan support, well above the required simple majority, so Boebert’s vote would not have been the deciding factor in the matter. But the far-right congresswoman, whose sprawling district covers Colorado’s western slope, has repeatedly spoken out against the move.
“The financial position of this country is already on the verge of collapse,” Boebert wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “This current UNLIMITED debt ceiling hike is the gust of wind that will send us straight across.”
The financial position of this country is already on the edge of a cliff.
This current UNLIMITED increase in the debt ceiling is the gust of wind that will send us straight across.
Once we fall off that cliff, there’s no turning back.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) May 30, 2023
“Once we fall off that cliff, there’s no turning back,” the tweet continued.
A spokesman for Boebert confirmed that the congressman had no intention of missing the vote. She and fellow Colorado Republican Ken Buck both said at a news conference Tuesday that they would vote against the debt ceiling agreement. Colorado Public Radio reported that. Many Republicans criticized the measure, arguing that negotiations with Democrats were not enough to reduce government spending.
Buck cast his no vote on Wednesday and Colorado’s third house Republican, Rep. Doug Lambborn, voted for to raise the debt ceiling.
After missing the vote, Boebert released a statement, which reads in part:
“The Swamp did its old song and dance and pretended to listen to the American people, but once the backroom deal was made, it was predetermined that it would succeed,” said Boebert. “I certainly wasn’t afraid to vote against the bill as I’ve been arguing against it all week.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly missed the vote and ran up the stairs as they hammered.
— Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) June 1, 2023
An Axios reporter tweeted that Boebert narrowly missed the vote and ran up the steps of Congress as the House closed the vote.
Bobbert was not the only representative who did not vote on the debt ceiling. Indiana Republican Jim Banks, Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig, and North Carolina Democrat Deborah Ross also did not vote.
Colorado’s Democratic representatives — Yadira Caraveo, Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, Brittany Pettersen — all voted in favor of the bill.
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