AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
- Nine Republicans joined Democrats to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress.
- Republican leaders urged members to vote against the contempt resolution.
- The final vote was 229-202, and the DOJ will now weigh whether to formally charge Bannon.
The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to hold Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist and a close confidant of former President Donald Trump, in criminal contempt of Congress. The vote will trigger a referral to the Justice Department, which will then decide whether to bring formal charges against Bannon.
The final vote was 229-202, with 9 Republicans joining Democrats to hold Bannon in criminal contempt.
Here are the Republicans who broke party lines:
- Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney
- Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger
- Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer
- Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez
- Michigan Rep. Fred Upton
- New York Rep. John Katko
- South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace
- Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
- Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler
Cheney and Kinzinger were widely expected to vote to hold Bannon in contempt given that they both serve on the select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Both lawmakers, as well as Meijer, Gonzalez, Upton, Herrera Beutler and Katko, joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump over his role in catalyzing the deadly riot.
Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson initially voted "yes" on the contempt resolution but later changed his vote to a "no."
Mace said after her vote that although she voted against the select committee, it's now a "duly formed" panel.
"I'm going to fight for subpoena powers that no matter who's in power because we've got to have the opportunity and the ability to investigate," the South Carolina lawmaker told reporters.
Thursday's vote to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress came after he defied a subpoena from the January 6 select committee calling on him to provide documents and testimony in connection to his actions before, during, and after the siege.
House Republican whip Steve Scalise put out a statement earlier Thursday urging members to vote against the measure, arguing that Democrats were "pursuing a partisan agenda to politicize the January 6th attack." And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said at his weekly news conference that the subpoena was "invalid."
"He has the right to go to court to see if he has executive privilege or not," McCarthy said of Bannon. "I don't know if he does or not, but neither does the committee."
Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm, said he will use Republicans' opposition to attack them in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections.
"You better believe it," Maloney said. "They should be accountable for undermining the rule of law. Voters should care about that."
Maloney added that he hopes the contempt vote will produce cooperation between "witnesses whose testimony Americans deserve to receive" and the January 6 select committee.