Dem Rep. Jonathan Jackson Caught Lying About Missing Hegseth Vote

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Democrats who missed the vote to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth are facing backlash from their own party, with Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) at the center of a controversy over his whereabouts. Nearly a dozen House Democrats failed to show up for the vote, which ended in a 211-204 defeat for outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) effort to oust Hegseth. The absence of these members has drawn criticism from fellow Democrats.

Excuses and Conflicts

Some of the absent members were attending a reception for the Elect Democratic Women (EDW) PAC, co-founded by Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), when the vote took place on Tuesday evening. A range of excuses were offered, including Correa claiming a medical procedure, Horsford citing a family emergency, and Pelosi’s spokesperson stating she was at a Veterans Day event in California.

Pettersen claimed she was simply “denied the ability to vote,” possibly due to arriving too late. Jackson, however, made a notable error by speaking with TMZ just outside the Capitol ahead of the vote, where he claimed he was unable to attend due to a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus causing a delay.

Jackson’s Confusion

When confronted by TMZ’s Charlie Cotton, Jackson failed to explain how he was at the Capitol yet missed the vote. He initially blamed a traffic jam, but Cotton pointed out the inconsistency. Jackson admitted it was a mistake and claimed he was the first member to ask for Hegseth’s resignation.

Cotton argued that Jackson had seen him with minutes to spare the day before, and Jackson conceded that it was a mistake. He later told CNN’s Don Lemon that he was in the Capitol yard but missed the vote due to a traffic jam, adding there was no excuse for it.

Support and Traffic Claims

While the exact attendees of the EDW event remain unclear, Axios’s Andrew Solender confirmed that some of the missing Democrats were caught in a traffic jam returning from the event. Julian Andreone reported that eight of the absent Democrats received support from EDW or its AIPAC-tied super PAC EDW Action.

Strickland’s chief of staff, Gillen, and Stansbury also cited traffic jams as reasons for their absence, though the validity of these claims remains under scrutiny.

Source: Breitbart