Freshman Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) refused to support Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation last week, so now House leadership is rumored to be planning his removal as President of the Freshman Class of the House of Representatives.
In an email obtained by Breitbart News, Representatives Elise Stefanik and Mimi Walters called a meeting for all freshman Congressmen this Thursday at 8:30 AM.
Buck thinks the meeting is being called to hold a vote on his removal as President of the Freshman Class as punishment for voting against House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) – who has cheerleaded Obama’s trade deals.
Buck also said he is worried about whether he’ll get a fair voting process, because it is his understanding that not all freshman Representatives received the email notifying them of the last minute meeting early Thursday morning. The email was sent out Tuesday night just before 10 PM.
“In America, we don’t retaliate against people for expressing their views,” Buck told Breitbart News of the rumored pending punishment. “We don’t retaliate by calling a meeting with one day’s notice to remove someone from office without any explanation.”
Boehner has recently punished Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) by removing him from his subcommittee chairmanship for also voting against TPA.
In a Wednesday speech at the Heritage Foundation, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) expressed disapproval of House leadership’s moves regarding Meadows and Buck:
Just this morning news broke that leadership is now seeking to strip Ken Buck, another conservative in the House, of his leadership position. Why is it that Republican leadership always always always cuts deals with the Democrats and Washington and throws overboard the conservatives that come October and November in an election year they are desperately asking to turn out and elect them in power?
As Breitbart News previously reported, “Many conservatives are upset that the Speaker and Republican leaders are working so closely with the president to get one of the largest trade deals in history passed — a deal which has been largely unread by both parties.”
The TPA legislation sparked debate between Republicans and Democrats because of a program called Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which is a welfare program for displaced workers affected by the trade deals.
The debate occurred as to how TAA would be funded. Additionally, many Republicans voted against House leadership, declining to give Obama fast track authority over trade negotiations because it would remove Congressional amendments – only allowing Congress an up or down vote on the final deal.
Buck said the meeting Thursday morning is open to the press to ensure an open and honest voting process.
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