Our readers have posted calls for these seditionists to be expelled from Congress. I agree with their sentiment. However, as a practical matter, the expulsion of a quarter of the House membership is unlikely to occur. It would be better to focus expulsion penalties on those members whose egregious actions rise above simply voting to not validate electoral vote results in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Congress on January 6.
Some members acted more overtly by communicating with the domestic terrorists amid the invasion with intel about leaders’ and other members’ locations. Some members showed potential invaders around the Capitol before the invasion. Those behaviors, once established, should certainly be grounds for expulsion. Other aggravating behavior before January 6 should also be considered.
Recall that a number of the same members who voted on January 6 also signed an amicus brief in December supporting a preposterous lawsuit initiated by Texas asserting that their interests were harmed by the elections in Arizona and four other states where the Biden-Harris ticket carried the states by wide margins. The suit failed to get in the door of the Supreme Court.
Seditious behavior
Consider the three counts of seditious behavior since November 3:
Count 1: Signing the amicus brief on the Texas case seeking to invalidate the presidential election results in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in December 2020. This includes 138 members of Congress, including Representatives Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and Debbie Lesko
Count 2: Voting to not accept the results and electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on January 6, 2021. A total of 147 members of the House — including Representatives Biggs, Lesko, Gosar, and David Schweikert – the entire Arizona Republican delegation to the House – voted not to accept these electoral votes.
Count 3: Actively providing access and information to insurrectionists preparing for and participating in the invasion of the Capitol on January 6; or publicly urging insurrection by invading the Capitol on January 6.
As I have written before, three of Arizona’s representatives in Congress have two counts against them: Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and Debbie Lesko. David Schweikert joined them on January 6, in the teeth of the insurrection, all four voted to overturn properly run and patently honest elections in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Whether or not any of them participated in preparing for or facilitating of the insurrection remains to be established, but we will soon know.
Those guilty of Count 3 should be expelled by action of the House. However, this will be a heavy lift, considering that expulsion will require approval by a larger majority than the Democrats now enjoy. The attempt must be made for no other reason than to get the remaining Republicans on record as condoning insurrection and spreading lies about the voting process.
Those guilty of Count 2 should lose all perks of seniority, be removed from all committee assignments, lose money, staff and office space, and also, be stripped of floor privileges in the House. This will include over 25% of the House membership and will put a heavy burden on those with full privileges remaining. It will also force the Republicans to elect a new Minority leader and Whip, which might make bipartisan cooperation more possible.
Those guilty of only Count 1 should be censured by the House, and like the rest, face the voters as damaged goods in the 2022 elections. This would include the present Minority Leader and the Minority whip (Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise). This sanction should last at least until this Congress ends its term in 2022. Then, let their constituents take care of the removal of most of the bad actors when they can’t do their jobs.