On the one hand, there was a rare outbreak of bipartisanship in Congress on Tuesday evening. The Senate voted unanimously to make Juneteenth a national holiday and the House soon after voted overwhelmingly to award the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors, to the law enforcement officers who protected lawmakers and their staff from the Jan. 6 mob that laid siege to the Capitol.
On the other hand, while 406 House Democrats and Republicans voted to honor the officers, 21 Republicans voted no. "The vote underscored the lingering tensions in Congress amid efforts by some GOP lawmakers to whitewash the events of that day," The Washington Post reports.
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The legislation honors the "sacrifices" of the three police officers who died following the attack and the "courage" of Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman. "The desecration of the U.S. Capitol, which is the temple of our American Democracy, and the violence targeting Congress are horrors that will forever stain our nation's history," the bill says.
The Republicans who voted no were Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Warren Davidson (Ohio), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Bob Good (Va.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Andy Harris (Md.), Jody Hice (Ga.), Mary Miller (Ill.), Barry Moore (Ala.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Scott Perry (Pa.), John Rose (Tenn.), Matt Rosendale (Mont.), Chip Roy (Texas), and Greg Steube (Fla.). They faced bipartisan criticism for their votes.
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