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For Brad Mole, venturing into Republican politics didnt start with a sudden awakening to conservatism. It was his religious upbringing and way of life that brought him to the Republican party.

My faith pushed me more toward policies that better reflected my upbringing, he said. I began understanding that the teachings I was raised with more reflected in a party that not many around me identified with.

The son of a preacher in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina, Mole is now taking his politics a giant leap forward, challenging the Democrat Joe Cunningham for his US congressional seat.

As analysts debunk the myth of the black voter monolith, some black Republicans are stepping forward to counter stereotypes and assert a political identity very different from the usual assumption that all black Americans are Democrats, especially in the era of President Donald Trump.

As one of seven Republicans running for the seat, Mole credits his religious background for his motivations to join the crowded race. Those same traditions are often associated with centrist African American political leanings. But for black Americans like Mole, their conservatism leads some to question whether their political party and preferences actually match their worldview.

I am the typical black person who voted for Barack Obama, but I then voted for Trump, he said. At some point you think for yourself and say: You know what? Im not voting this person or this ticket just because my grandma or parents did.

Ahead of a June Republican primary and the 2020 presidential election, Mole says he is connecting with fellow voters in ways he said speak more to the nuance of conservative cultural traditions.

He is not alone. Kaaryn Walker, president of Black Conservatives for Truth, founded the advocacy group as an outlet for black Americans to connect with one another and draw attention to conservative policy initiatives.

Sometimes you find that people share the same politics you do, but because of fear or backlash, black people dont talk about it, said Walker.

If you want to see the Republican party be more diverse, you have to see us being active in the party, she said.

Walker has identified as a conservative for more than 25 years, pointing to her pro-life leanings and support for free market economics. Like Mole, an upbringing steeped in tradition led her to a closer affiliation with Republicans than the Democratic party her family typically supported.

In her outreach, she often challenges others to rethink how Democratic platforms represent black values.

We engage on policy and thats when people start seeing distinctions, she said. People start seeing other like-minded conservatives and say: My policy and mindset doesnt fit the Democratic party and thats OK.

In the decades since the notorious Southern Strategy saw white southerners flock to the Republican party in the wake of the successes of the civil rights movement, black voters have maintained close ties with Democrats that has remained steady throughout much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Modern black Republicans arent a particularly new phenomenon, though. Several conservatives, including the former Republican party chair Michael Steele and former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, have led prominent Republican initiatives that, in the past, sparked speculation of potential presidential runs.

The South Carolina senator Tim Scott has more recently stepped forward as one of the presidents most loyal supporters and has been at the forefront of the Trump administrations efforts to appeal to black voters.

Still, as the Republican party began leaning further right in the 2010s, black Americans moved left. The numbers bear out the dominance of the Democrats. More than 88% of black Americans voted for the Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. But Walker insisted pundits shouldnt rule out black support for the president this time around.

Narrowing the wage gap, the First Step Act for prison reform, investing in black colleges, she said. Those of us proud of that progress are doing the work of educating the people who are ignorant to it.

Pew data collected in 2017 found that although African American voters remain overwhelmingly Democratic, that identification has declined modestly in recent years.

About two-thirds of African Americans identified as Democrats, down from the first half of Barack Obamas presidency. Back then, about 75% of black Americans were affiliated with the Democratic party.

In addition, Pew noted that just 8% of black voters identify as Republican, the same percent as voted for Trump in 2016. African Americans are 11% of the American electorate overall.

As Democratic campaigns face increasing demand to center black voter diversity, the Trump administration took notice, investing additional campaign dollars on aggressive outreach to African American communities.

Those initiatives include campaign ads in traditional black media outlets and a slew of Black Voices for Trump rallies at makeshift community storefronts in key battleground states.

In a press release announcing the initiative, the Trump campaign pinpointed record-low minority unemployment rates and investments in historically black colleges and universities, as evidence of the presidents continued commitment to black communities.

President Trump has a real record of results for black Americans, and our party is committed to sharing that winning message far and wide, the Republican national committee chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, said.

Opponents of Trump point to his controversial past with race, including a history of housing discrimination lawsuits. Although one in six black Americans are the children of immigrants, Trump has called Caribbean and African nations shithole countries, recently banning migrants from several African nations.

Most notable are a series of print ads in 1989 calling for the death penalty for the now-exonerated Central Park Five. Authorities involved in the case later said the ads contributed to the black and Latino mens wrongful convictions.

Walker admits an uphill battle in wooing fellow African Americans who take issue with the presidents record. She counters criticisms of being a traitor to her race by contending no one person is representative of the party values.

If the only reason that youre a Democrat is because you think the Republicans are racist then you need to go back and figure out why youre really a Democrat, she said.

Racism does not discriminate by party, and you see that playing out right now in the Democratic primaries with misstep after misstep.

But the vitriol has gotten intense. Walker recalled being unfriended, blocked or disinvited from events many times in recent years.

The rise of prominent black Republican figures whose platforms stoke controversy can also make her a target.

Sometimes Ill get a call to my phone or social media and a phantom voice is yelling, screaming and cursing at me, she said. But then theyre surprised when I respond with Are you done? Now lets try that again and actually have a dialogue because thats what politics are about.

To Mole, pushback is an opportunity to engage. He noted peer support for his platform seldom wanes even after he mentions his name will appear on the ballot with an R.

Sometimes you get a look, or an I dont know about that but, most times, from just talking, folks open up and realize for themselves just how conservative their values are.

But hes not out to change minds; he wants rebuild a sense of community.

Pointing to recent White House forums tackling black issues alongside fellow Scott, the senator, Mole said there was a momentum building most would overlook one that motivates him as he canvasses the state.

People out there are looking for someone thats going to listen to them and one of the first things my party can do is just come to the table, he said. Im willing to have those conversations where people of either party dont go, to speak to the issues.

Although he is a heavy underdog, its those kitchen-table discussions on shared traditional values Mole hopes will draw voters out in June, and again in November, regardless of his placing in the state primary.

Walker insisted whats at stake is bigger than any one election or polarizing president.

Were a community whose principles and convictions are silenced in the broader narrative of black voters, she said. But were here fighting to preserve our conservative culture as we vote Republican across the country.

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How black Republicans are debunking the myth of a voter monolith - Getaka.co.in

If the slow-on-the-uptake response to COVID-19 by the White House seems a little familiar to you, youre definitely not imagining it. As if were caught in some sort of Groundhog Day loop in the time-space continuum, weve absolutely been here before. Cue I Got You Babe on the alarm clock.

I realize too many Americans have gnat-like attention spans and even shorter memories, so Ill be specific. Beyond several details, the Trump presidency is looking an awful lot like the second term of the George W. Bush presidency. To his credit, Mike Pence hasntshot anyone in the face, but were seeing a traffic jam of similar events: a crisis with a growing death toll, a painfully tone-deaf, slow and inept government response,a financial meltdownand an out-of-controlbudget deficit. (Trump promised toeliminatethe deficit.) Only now, its all happening at the same time.

The Republican-led geyser of insanity that landed in our laps between 2005 and 2009 is back for an encore, and its horrifying.

Do we seea pattern here yet?

Wed have to be blind not to. For reasons that will forever confound historians, 62 million Americans, many of whom were still tangled in the nets of the previous Republican catastrophes, decided itd be a great idea toown the libs by giving the Republican Party another chance at running the federal government, not to mention Congress. This time, however, they landed on a candidate with zero experience, zero aptitude for government work, zero regard for anything other than his own popularity and, as a bonus, a history of personal financial disasters including bankrupted casinos, a fraudulent university and an even more fraudulent charitable foundation.

Trump voters justified this choice by suggesting that an obnoxious, undisciplined businessman whosold steaks in Sharper Image mall stores was fully qualified to run the worlds most powerful government (which isnt at all like a business). This was like shoving a carnie who runs the Tilt-a-Whirl into the cockpit of a Space-X rocket. Maybe hell stir things up, they thought, choosing to experiment with the presidency by handing an erratic weirdo the nuclear codes. What could possibly go wrong? For starters, the rocket is nosediving, and were all passengers, including the voters who put us here.

We tried to warn the Red Hats. We tried to remind themwhat happened the last time around. But rather than employing basic common sense or, at the very least, a Google search for what went down during the previous, slightly less moronic Republican administration, they decided to jam their faces into the GOP propeller blades once again, and here we are. Ned The Head Ryerson should be along any second now, refusing to abide social distancing.

Whether it was refusing to acknowledge the onset of the virus orclosing down the pandemic response unita couple of years ago, the Trump White House bungled this from the beginning, likely worsening the death toll and precipitating the collapse of the financial markets. Meanwhile, Trumps tax cuts ended up benefiting Trumps wealthy Mar-a-Lago guests far more than the forgotten men and women of America and there was no way to pay for them, adding still more billions to the deficit. Weve also seen this dynamic play out at the state level, for example with former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and his tax cut experiment, which nearly bankrupted the state rather than creating the explosive economic growth he promised.

Say what you will about the Democratic Party, but history has illustrated that Democratic presidents are infinitely better at governing than any recent Republican. I mean, its shocking that the party that wants to drown government in the bathtub doesnt know how to govern, nor is interested in learning. But notice how Trump and Bush each eagerly embraced big government when their asses and legacies were on the line.

Trump arrived in Washington believing he could tweet, blurt foul nicknames and show off his executive orders like a big boy, and everything would work out great. It turns out that being president requires more vision, discipline and actual knowledge than he thought, and thats just the very basic skill set.

Much to Trumps surprise, when the disasters stacked up, he couldnt bullshit his way through like hes done so many times before. If it werent for his life support system at Fox News Channel, not to mention his loyalists on CapitolHill, Trump wouldve been forced to resign after Charlottesville if he had even been elected in the first place, which would have beendoubtful without the late Roger Ailes, Mitch McConnell and, yes, Vladimir Putin. Theyll all try like hell now, but I wonder whether they can put President Humpty back together again.

During his inaugural address, Trump referred to the Obama years as American carnage, and promised to make America great again. It turns out, a no drama competent family man who kicked off the heretofore longest economic expansion in history wasnt anything close to being American carnage that was another Trump lie, eagerly swallowed by his own people. It turns out that while theres always room for improvement,economic growth,job creationandother indicatorswere equal to or more robust during the so-called carnage under Obama.

Indeed, carnage is what were seeing now as we wake up to our shocking new normal for the foreseeable future. But even before the COVID-19 crisis, even before the financial crisis, there was the Trump Crisis the daily institution-crushing mayhem erupting from Trumps phone, from federal investigators and from the fast-moving process of turning the executive branch into a subsidiary of the Trump Organization. It was only a matter of time before Trumps flimsy, brittle presidency, built on make-believe and held together with masking tape and spit by Fox News, fell apart. Sadly, were all getting hit by the debris from the crash.

The only way to break this cycle is to take a step back, turn off the Fox News fairy tales about big hands and perfect hair, and reprioritize the question of who ought to be leading the country. As wecovered last week, those leaders should never again be slack-jawed morons you hypothetically want to have a beer with, and they definitely shouldnt be loudmouth wannabe mobsters turned game-show hosts. Were dangerously close to fighting the next pandemic with Brawndo unless this ridiculousness is finally shocked out of our system.

then let us make a small request. AlterNets journalists work tirelessly to counter the traditional corporate media narrative. Were here seven days a week, 365 days a year. And were proud to say that weve been bringing you the real, unfiltered news for 20 yearslonger than any other progressive news site on the Internet.

Its through the generosity of our supporters that were able to share with you all the underreported news you need to know. Independent journalism is increasingly imperiled; ads alone cant pay our bills. AlterNet counts on readers like you to support our coverage. Did you enjoy content from David Cay Johnston, Common Dreams, Raw Story and Robert Reich? Opinion from Salon and Jim Hightower? Analysis by The Conversation? Then join the hundreds of readers who have supported AlterNet this year.

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The Republican-led geyser of insanity that landed in our laps between 2005 and 2009 is back for an encore and its horrifying - AlterNet

The theory of a Social Contract developed as far back as ancient Greece. Though iterated, reiterated, and reformed by numerous philosophers and public figures, the foundations of this social contract stand on the premise that people live together in community with the agreement that establishes moral, ethical, and overarching political rules of behavior between individuals, groups, and their government in the formation of a civil society.

A violation by any of the signatories individuals, groups, governments jeopardizes the very stability of that progress toward a fully civil society.

Related: Joe Biden is the candidate that LGBTQ people should choose for President

We witness politically conservative figures either refusing to sign this contract, or for those who may have previously etched their names, reneging on the terms and stipulations. For them, they abide by the motto: That government is best that governs least.

Many reference this statement to Thomas Jefferson, though there is little indication these were his precise words. But for the sake of argument, let us concede that his desire was to maintain a manageable central governmental system providing services that the states and local municipalities could not or would not deliver.

The states in this country, through their representatives, would advance the needs of their constituents. In all other areas, local governmental and private bodies would function.

Jeffersons intention was to form and maintain this republican (lower case r) system of government.

Many Republicans (upper case R) have taken our founders notions of republicanism to cynical and profoundly dangerous depths. For example, anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquistpronounced the view held by many on the political right:

My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.

Republicans do this through extreme measures to excite and guide many ideologically on the not-only-extremes to the political right.

Background of a Movement

We can date the roots of the modern conservative political movement to the 1950s with Arizona political leader Barry Morris Goldwater, who sparked a legion of Goldwater Conservatives by articulating concepts of small government, a free unrestricted market economy, and a strong national defense.

Goldwater, a five-term U.S. Senator and Republican nominee for President of the United States in 1964, impacted his partys philosophical positions, which serve as the basis for the Partys policy positions to this day.

Health Crises: The Reagan Administration

Ronald Reagan is not the model politician and leader that most Republicans worship today. The real Ronald Reagan forwarded policies that enormously increased the wealth gap between the very rich and the remainder of the population. He expanded the rate of people living in poverty with his doublespeak trickle down economics. He illegally and surreptitiously sold arms to Iran and furtively redirected the profits to fascist Central American dictators to fund and equip their death gangs of thugs.

And most of all, the ungodly Ronald Reagan functioned as the Coconspirator-In-Chief in the deaths of people infected with HIV during the early years of what became a pandemic under his so-called watch. Ronald Reagan should have been charged and convicted of genocidal murder, rather than seen as the much-venerated pseudo-saint who he has been anointed by the conservative Republican Party.

Whenever I hear tributes of praise to this mythological figure coming from Republican stalwarts, what comes to my mind instead is a stunningly poignant quote from Larry KramersThe Normal Heart, his stage play covering the early years of AIDS in the United States:

Were living through war, but where theyre living its peace time, and were all in the same country.

As I hear these words reverberating in my mind, images escape from my stored memory into consciousness of the excruciatingly long seven years into his presidency until Ronald Reagan, under whose presidency the AIDS pandemic first came to light, finally and officially publicly acknowledged the existence of the crisis.

The one and only time he publicly spoke of AIDS before 1987, except to address a few reporters questions, was in his first year in office when heinferredthat maybe the Lord brought down the plague because illicit sex is against the Ten Commandments.

Pat Buchanan, Reagans Chief of Communications,spokefor many by calling AIDS natures awful retribution that did not deserve a thorough and compassionate response, and latersaid:

With 80,000 dead of AIDS, our promiscuous homosexuals appear literally hell-bent on Satanism and suicide.

Republican North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms sponsored an amendment to the U.S. fiscal 1988 appropriations bill for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education to prohibit the Federal Centers for Disease Control from funding AIDS programs that promote, encourage or condone homosexual activities.

We have got to call a spade a spade, said Helms, and a perverted human being a perverted human being.

The Senate passed the amendment, 96 to 2. Only 47 members of the House of Representatives took the descent stand to resist the bigotry endemic to this amendment by voting against it.

Uninformed and prejudicial statements coming from the White House and the halls of Congress, from the State Houses, and yes, from some houses of worship during those trying times only encouraged the ceaseless bigotry and discriminatory actions against people with HIV, including against Ryan White, a young HIV-positive boy with hemophilia who posed virtually no risk to his classmates, but his middle school administrators expelled him from school nonetheless.

Since those early years, HIV/AIDS affected most visibly what some called the 4H Club Homosexuals, Haitians, Intravenous Heroin Drug Users, and People with Hemophilia all but the latter considered as disposables at that time, governmental and many social institutions refused to take wide-scale action.

Health Crises: The Trump Administration

Overall, this conservative notion of non-governing has serious consequences, but in times of crisis, it has the potential of pushing a society and a nation to the brink of destruction.

The unprepared reckless reaction to the current worldwide novel coronavirus pandemic is a case in point. As reports of the outbreak broke in the press and in national capitals across the planet, and as initial cases spread exponentially, the Trump Administration with this feckless president fell into immediate denial.

They downplayed the seriousness of the virus, with testing, and with taking hygienic precautions, with some Republicans and Fox News commentators referring to it as a Democrat hoax. Trump himself understated the number of cases in the U.S., lied about its seriousness, lied about his administrations mobilization to produce and distribute testing kits, and accused other for the virus.

He balked at allowing infected travelers on a cruise ship from docking at the port in Oakland, California to be quarantined on land because his primary concern was how it would look if the numbers of cases increased on his reelection chances.

Throughout this crisis, his emphasis was on stabilizing the stock markets rather than with the health and safety of the people of the United States. As with his draconian anti-immigration policies, his concern centered on closing our borders (for example, in this instance to air travel from Europe) while blaming the outbreak on a foreign virus.

At the current pandemics outbreak, the World Health Organization offered to provide the U.S. with testing kits, which Trump turned down.

This fallout is only made more dramatic when you consider that after one year in the Oval Office, Trump closed the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, the same office that successfully led the country through the Ebola epidemic of 2014.

Just as retroviruses attack and compromise the bodys immune system all through our society, Donald John Trump attacks and compromises vital institutions of the body politic. But unfortunately, he has not been alone among the Republicans in times of health crises.

One can reasonably argue that if the majority of people with HIV/AIDS initially had been middle-class, white, suburban heterosexual males, rather than gay and bisexual males, trans people, people of color, working-class people, sex workers, and drug users, we would have immediately seen massive mobilizations to defeat the virus.

Recently, the U.S. Congress on a bipartisan basis, led by the courageous, compassionate, and brilliant Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, passed a comprehensive package to finance testing, containment, and treatment of people infected by the coronavirus.

Governmental coverage of the financial costs in this health crisis, even by any other name, sounds and functions as Medicare for All. Providing health coverage of a novel virus must no longer represent a novel idea.

It MUST become the norm like our peer countries across the globe.

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Republican reneging on the social contract in times of crisis breeds disaster - LGBTQ Nation

Meghan McCainbecame a regular panelist onThe View in 2017. Frequently sparring over political issues with fellow panelists Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, and especially Joy Behar,McCaindoes not waiver from her conservative stance regardless of who agrees or disagrees with her.

Though there have been other co-hosts on the show in years past that lean to the right, McCain feels she is the first genuine Republican to serve on the panel.

When McCain was offered the job at the daytime talk show, she was hesitant at first. I didnt want to join, she told author Ramin Setoodah for his book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View. I thought it looked like there was so much turnover. It wasnt the iconic show I watched when I was in college.

Her dad, the late Senator John McCain, encouraged her to accept the offer since he was a fan and friend of Goldberg. I originally said no when they asked me, and my dad convinced me to do it, she revealed.

Finding her footing with her fellow co-hosts took some time for McCain when she started on the long-running show. The core people have been here a long time, the View panelist noted. It feels like youre joining a new club that doesnt want new members. That was the hardest part.

Apparently ABC execs planned well when they brought McCain on the team. According to Setoodahs book, the 2017-2018 season saw a definite spike in viewership with ratings at its highest in four years with the addition of McCain.

McCains willingness to be vocal on her conservative leanings have definitely made an impact on The View, and she has no intention of lightening her tone. Seeing an increase in political awareness, the talk show co-host credits the countrys interest in politics as what is driving the shows success.

I think everyone is more interested in politics, the television personality said. Young women are different now than when I was younger. Everyone is involved, civically engaged, and informed. I think thats also why the show is doing well.

While her bouts with liberal Behar have become legendary and possibly another reason why more people are tuning in, McCain insists that they both enjoy their frequent debates. I love sparring with her, she said of Behar. Were like boxers; we punch gloves and then were out.

While the show has had co-hosts in the past that would fall under the conservative umbrella, McCain feels that her success on the show is due to her being The Views first genuine Republican.

I think the reason I worked and other Republicans didnt is because Im the first real Republican they hired, McCain told Setoodah, adding a reference to a former vocal conservative. Yes, I think Im more of a Republican than Elisabeth is.

Setoodah commented in his book that McCain was in no way dissing former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, of whom McCain is a professed fan. The political pundit was just clarifying her firm stance as someone who grew up in the political space.

I was born in this environment. I dont want to be a Democrat, she said. I think there were a lot of people they hired that are in the mushy middle, or they are Republicans who are ashamed of being Republicans or they are intimidated.

Commenting on previous panelists, McCain felt that some have been less definitive on their views. Nicole Wallace switched parties, she said. Candace Cameron was a social conservative.

With a pivotal presidential election around the corner, McCain is clearly in her wheelhouse speaking on the subject and is sure to be a fixture at The View for quite some time.

See more here:
'The View:' Why Meghan McCain Says She's the First 'Real Republican' Hired for the Show - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Updated March 14 at 2:20 p.m.: Revised to include additional statements from members of Congress.

WASHINGTON Six Texas Republicans voted against the coronavirus relief package that sailed through the House early Saturday morning.

The sweeping legislation includes free testing for COVID-19 for people without insurance, as well as paid sick leave, $1 billion in food aid, extended unemployment benefits and other measures to help Americans affected by the spreading virus.

Freshman Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, called it welfare that would do more harm than good an assertion that prompted Democrats to accuse him of pulling a political stunt that puts Texans at risk.

The House approved the bill 363-40, with the vast majority of Texans in both parties voting for it and touting the $2.2 billion it provides for prevention, preparedness and response.

Roy, along with Reps. Lance Gooden of Terrell, Brian Babin of Woodville, Michael Cloud of Victoria, Louie Gohmert of Tyler and Randy Weber of Friendswood, were among the 40 Republicans who opposed the bill.

Gooden said he voted no because he and other lawmakers were given only a few minutes to read a bill at midnight.

I dont wish to disparage any House members as they hail this bill as a positive step forward, he said in a statement. Im not here to rubber-stamp Nancy Pelosi or anyone elses work without proper vetting."

Pelosi and the White House announced the deal late Friday after negotiations between House Democrats and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The GOP-controlled Senate will return to work on Monday and address the package.

President Donald Trump blessed the deal, tweeting on Saturday: "Good teamwork between Republicans & Democrats as the House passes the big CoronaVirus Relief Bill. People really pulled together. Nice to see!"

On Friday afternoon, Trump declared the coronavirus a national emergency, freeing up billions in dollars in emergency aid to battle the pandemic.

Texas lawmakers in both parties embraced the deal.

Our country is at its best when we work together through times of crisis, and today, Congress acted in a bipartisan way to combat the spread of coronavirus and bring real relief to our workers and communities, said Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas.

Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, lauded the bill, saying that the American people expect and deserve a comprehensive, coordinated response to the coronavirus.

But Roy and others criticized the process as rushed and complained about the substance of the bill.

I voted no because this bill will cause more harm for more Americans than the good it purports to offer, Roy tweeted early Saturday after the vote, complaining that "we were given a take-it-or-leave it bill with zero chance to amend it or debate it. ... Despite it being well-intentioned, it puts onerous burdens and mandates on main street employers, while picking winners and losers by carving out big business!

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has targeted Roy as he faces former state Sen. Wendy Davis in the fall, blasted him for grandstanding.

Hes not taking the health and safety of his constituents seriously, said Avery Jaffe, spokesman for the House Democrats campaign arm. While Democrats and Republicans came together to address this outbreak, Chip Roy is once again coming apart pulling political stunts and proving that when Texans need him the most, hell always choose political games over their health and safety.

On the House floor shortly before 1 a.m., following passage of the bill, Gohmert called the speedy vote sad.

This is no way to handle billions and billions of dollars when were trying to help people, he said.

Babin, Cloud and Weber all made similar arguments in separate statements, voicing concern about the vote being rushed.

Three Texas Republicans did not vote: Reps. Kenny Marchant of Coppell and Pete Olson of Sugar Land, who are both retiring after this term, and John Ratcliffe of Heath, near Dallas, who was recently nominated by Trump to serve as director of national intelligence.

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Six Texas Republicans oppose coronavirus relief deal that sailed through House; Chip Roy called it 'welfare' - The Dallas Morning News