A patently true statement by a House Republican Friday evening about an approved House Resolution drew unexpected criticism.
“Yesterday, 162 Democrats voted to allow illegal aliens to vote in elections in Washington D.C.,” noted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in a Twitter post. “Ridiculous.”
“Only Americans should vote in American elections.”
Fox News further reported:
Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, caused a stir on Twitter Friday night after he said Democrats in Washington D.C. were “ridiculous” to support a decision allowing non-citizens the opportunity to vote.
“Only Americans should vote in American elections,” said Jordan, prompting backlash.
The Republican’s tweet concerned House Joint Resolution 24, or the “Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022,” which passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The resolution seeks to overturn a bill that passed the D.C. Council in October, which opened the local voting process to immigrants.
Several people responded to Jordan’s tweet criticizing the lawmaker’s take, while others supported it.
“In state and local elections, all people living legally in the area affected by the outcome of the elections should be able to vote,” the user wrote.
“Another day, another ridiculous distortion,” another responded.
Yet another user asked why he was “meddling in city laws.”
The House voted to overturn the D.C. bill, 260-162. The 162 votes against the resolution were all Democrats, who said the D.C. local ordinance should remain in place.
Four Republicans and eight Democrats did not vote on the resolution. The House passed a second resolution that overturned a D.C. bill that reduced criminal penalties.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, first introduced the joint resolution ending non-citizen voting on Jan. 31.
Congress “must ensure that these terrible laws do not take effect,” Comer said, Roll Call reported.
He also said the bill “will only exacerbate the ongoing border crisis, subvert the voices of American citizens, and open the door for foreign adversaries to peddle influence in our nation’s capital,” per the report.
On Thursday, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., vowed that Republicans would overturn the D.C. bill.
“Really? Does anybody in this country think that as someone working at the Chinese embassy here in Washington, D.C., should be voting in the presidential election? Absolutely not,” Emmer said. “It’s insane what they did.”
He added: “We, the Republicans in the House, are going to reassert some common sense conservative values.”
The House joint resolution is authorized under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973.
The rule allows D.C. residents a say in electing their mayor and city council but gave Congress the ability to overturn any bill passed by that council. Congress has between 30 and 60 days to overturn various legislation passed by the council.
On Wednesday, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., called the joint resolutions “profoundly undemocratic, paternalistic,” Roll Call reported.
“D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and brown, are worthy and capable of governing themselves,” she said during a floor debate. “Keep your hands off D.C.”
The vote was the first time since 2015 that the House passed a resolution disapproving a D.C. bill.
It must be cleared by a Democrat-controlled Senate by a simple majority before it takes effect.
A fair number of responses supported the congressman’s proposition about reserving voting for citizens.
“Voting should be for citizens only,” opined the verified account of @callme_chari.
Radio host Gary Sullivan asked, “How is this a question that can even be asked?”
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