U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has been an ardent opponent of raising the country\u2019s debt ceiling to avoid default, but she did not cast her vote on the issue Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The House passed legislation to raise the government\u2019s debt ceiling on Wednesday just days before a critical deadline that would damage the country\u2019s credit rating and, economists warn, spark a recession. The vote came after days of tense negotiations between House Republicans and President Joe Biden\u2019s administration. The Senate must still pass the measure.<\/p>\n
The bill passed 314-117 in the House with bipartisan support, well over the simple majority needed, so Boebert\u2019s vote wouldn\u2019t have been the deciding factor in the matter. But the far-right congresswoman, whose sprawling district covers Colorado\u2019s Western Slope, repeatedly spoke out against the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis country\u2019s financial standing is already on the edge of a cliff,\u201d Boebert wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. \u201cThis current UNLIMITED debt ceiling increase is the burst of wind that is going to send us right over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we fall off that cliff, there\u2019s no going back,\u201d the tweet continued.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Boebert confirmed that the congresswoman did not intend to miss the vote. She and\u00a0fellow Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck both said in a news conference Tuesday that they would vote against the debt-ceiling deal, Colorado Public Radio reported. Many Republicans criticized the measure, arguing that negotiations with Democrats didn\u2019t do enough to cut government spending.<\/p>\n
Buck did cast his nay vote on Wednesday and Colorado\u2019s third House Republican, Rep. Doug Lamborn, voted in favor of raising the debt ceiling.<\/p>\n
After missing the vote Boebert released a statement, which reads in part:<\/p>\n
“The Swamp did its old song and dance and pretended to listen to the American people, but as soon as the backroom deal was made, it was predetermined that it would pass,” Boebert said. “I certainly wasn\u2019t afraid to vote against the bill, as I have been advocating against it all week.”<\/p>\n
A reporter for Axios tweeted that Boebert had narrowly missed the vote and was running up the steps of Congress right as the House closed the vote.<\/p>\n
Boebert was not the only representative who didn’t vote on the debt ceiling bill. Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana, Angie Craig, Democrat of Minnesota, and Deborah Ross, Democrat of North Carolina, also did not cast their votes.<\/p>\n
Colorado\u2019s Democratic representatives \u2013 Yadira Caraveo, Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, Brittany Pettersen \u2013 all voted in favor of the bill.<\/p>\n