The 13 House Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill are getting GOP blowback, threats

There was a lot of Democratic drama leading up to the House passing a bipartisan infrastructure package and sending it to President Biden's desk on Friday night. Now the most public disarray is on the Republican side of the aisle. Former President Donald Trump and some of his closest House allies have gone after the 13 House Republicans who voted for the bill, and after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called them "traitors" and tweeted their phone numbers, the lawmakers started getting ugly calls.
Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday that his vote will help improve the "atrocious state of our infrastructure," but his office has received a "substantial amount of troubling phone calls" about his vote. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said he's received numerous death threats, and he shared one of them with CNN on Monday night. In the profanity-filled call, a man from South Carolina calls Upton a "traitor" and wishes death on him, his family, and his staff.
Trump talked about making an infrastructure deal so much during his term that "infrastructure week" became a running joke. But at a private event Monday night hosted by the House GOP campaign arm, he said the 13 Republicans who "voted for Biden's infrastructure plan" should be "ashamed of themselves" for "helping the Democrats," The Washington Post reports. His former aides and current allies have used harsher language and called for the 13 House members to be stripped of their committee assignments and voted out of office next year.
"House Republican leaders have done nothing to come to aid of the 13 who voted for the bill, remaining silent even as these members publicly disclose the harassment they have faced," the Post adds. Meanwhile, "Senate Republicans have largely avoided cannibalizing 19 of their colleagues who voted in favor of the bipartisan infrastructure bill in August." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he's "delighted" the bill is heading to Biden's desk.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has not publicly commented on the calls to punish his 13 caucus members who voted for the infrastructure deal. But one of the 13, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), said his silence is loud enough. "A party with leaders like Kevin McCarthy, that cannot stand up to the insanity from people like Greene, Gaetz, Gosar, etc, is going to have a hard time standing up to countries like China," he tweeted.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
From Da Vinci to a golden toilet: a history of museum heists
In the Spotlight Following the ‘spectacular’ events at the Louvre, museums are ‘increasingly being targeted by criminal gangs’
-
Can Gen Z uprisings succeed where other protest movements failed?
Today's Big Question Apolitical and leaderless, youth-led protests have real power but are vulnerable to the strongman opportunist
-
The allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria
The Explainer West African nation has denied claims from US senator and broadcaster
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
‘The illusion of wealth can encourage people to take on more debt’
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
Are inflatable costumes and naked bike rides helping or hurting ICE protests?
Talking Points Trump administration efforts to portray Portland and Chicago as dystopian war zones have been met with dancing frogs, bare butts and a growing movement to mock MAGA doomsaying