Politics

Justin Amash Breaks Down In Tears On House Floor After Missing A Vote

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

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Rachel Stoltzfoos Staff Reporter
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Republican Rep. Justin Amash broke down in tears on the House floor Friday, when he realized he had missed a vote.

Amash had not missed a single vote since he was elected to Congress in 2011, and that was a point of pride he routinely boasted about. But his 4,289 vote streak was broken Friday when he got caught up in a conversation with reporters off the House floor and missed an amendment vote, reports Politico.

The congressman was voicing his displeasure with the Republican Obamacare replacement bill to a group of reporters in the speakers’ lobby, when he suddenly asked the reporters what vote was happening in the chamber. Realizing he had missed a vote, he “sprinted” onto the floor and tried to cast his ballot, but the voting had closed. He then asked floor staff and leadership if there was some way to cast his vote, but was told there is no precedent for reopening the vote or allowing a late vote.

“Amash hung his head low and was overcome with emotion,” Politico reports.

The end of his voting streak means Republican Rep. Steve Womack now holds the record with 4,294 votes in a row, and Womack almost immediately released a statement touting his new position.

“I have been sent to Washington by Third District Arkansans to make sure their voices are heard; voting is fundamental to that duty,” he said in the statement. “I am humbled by the opportunity to serve my constituents and thank God that no personal hardships have kept me from representing them on a single vote since taking office.”

Another reporter who said she witnessed the incident took issue with Politico’s framing of the story, saying in a tweet he was “upset” but did not “burst out sobbing.”

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