Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, nearly tipped the scales against his party in a critical House vote on Thursday, spotlighting tensions within the Republican ranks.
On Thursday, Hunt missed key House votes, including one on a resolution to restrict President Donald Trump’s war powers in Venezuela, arriving 20 minutes late to cast a decisive vote that defeated the bipartisan effort by a single margin.
His absence earlier in the day also strained Republican leadership during a procedural vote to advance spending legislation and avert a government shutdown, which passed by just one vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted the difficulty caused by Hunt’s delayed presence, while Hunt has been campaigning in Texas for a competitive Republican Senate primary against Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
The issue has sparked debate over balancing campaign ambitions with congressional duties, especially in a House where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority. With the recent death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., and the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., the GOP can afford to lose only two votes on legislation without Democratic support.
Hunt’s pattern of absences, missing 87 votes in 2025 alone, adds fuel to the fire.
Looking at Hunt’s track record, the numbers don’t inspire confidence—missing 25.1% of all measures last year, including votes on condemning antisemitism in June and an anti-deepfake bill in April, Fox News reported.
Even procedural votes tied to President Trump’s key legislative push, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, slipped through his fingers in May. His longest absence streak, 22 votes over two days in September of last year, came during debate on a water and energy spending bill.
In 2026, Hunt’s attendance hasn’t improved much, with votes cast on only two days so far. Often, he skips measures under suspension rules requiring supermajority support, which typically pass without issue—but Thursday proved that even routine votes can turn into tightrope walks. His office insists no critical GOP priorities have been derailed by his Texas campaign focus.
Speaking of excuses, Hunt dodged questions about representing constituents, instead citing a looming snowstorm in Washington, D.C., as his reason for rushing back. "I just want to make sure that y'all are OK when the storm hits, because it's coming, especially here in D.C.," he said. Nice sentiment, but weather forecasts don’t vote on war powers or government funding.
House Speaker Johnson didn’t hide his frustration, noting that Hunt’s absence didn’t make his job "any easier." With other GOP members like Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., also missing votes on Thursday, the pressure on leadership is palpable. Stefanik at least showed up for the Venezuela resolution, but every missing vote feels like a gamble with such slim margins.
Hunt’s office pushed back, claiming GOP leadership initially said he wasn’t needed in D.C. that week, until Johnson personally called him Thursday afternoon to return.
They framed his last-minute arrival as heroic, stating, "Hunt left the campaign trail, rushed to Washington, and delivered the deciding vote that nuked the radical Democrats’ plan to block President Trump from securing the Western Hemisphere." Sounds noble, but nearly missing a vote that could’ve handed Democrats a win isn’t exactly a medal-worthy moment.
The Venezuela resolution, which would have directed Trump to remove U.S. military forces from the country, stirred significant concern, even though the administration insists there are no “boots on the ground” there. Letting Democrats score a symbolic victory on foreign policy would’ve been a needless headache for a party already juggling internal challenges. Hunt’s tardy arrival may have saved the day, but it shouldn’t have been that close.
Hunt’s Senate run against Cornyn is clearly pulling his focus from Capitol Hill, and Cornyn didn’t mince words on X, criticizing the near-fiasco.
The senior senator pointed out that while Hunt’s vote wasn’t critical for the final spending package, his absence almost gifted Democrats a public relations win on the Venezuela measure. It’s hard to argue with that when GOP leaders had to stall the vote just to get Hunt in the door.
Running for higher office is no small feat, and Hunt’s ambition to unseat a long-serving senator shows grit. But when your day job involves votes that could shape U.S. foreign policy or keep the government running, skipping out for campaign stops in Texas raises eyebrows. Constituents deserve a representative who’s present, not just in a pinch.
Thursday wasn’t an isolated incident—Hunt’s absenteeism has been a lingering issue throughout this Congress. Missing votes on bipartisan, non-controversial bills might not always matter, but when the stakes are high, as they were with the spending measure and Venezuela resolution, every tally counts. Leadership shouldn’t have to babysit members to ensure they show up.
