Texas Congressman’s Absence Nearly Derails House Republicans’ Plans

Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas nearly handed Democrats a significant victory on Thursday by initially failing to appear for crucial votes aimed at restricting President Donald Trump’s war powers in Venezuela. Hunt’s last-minute arrival—rushing into the House chamber 20 minutes late—proved decisive in killing a bipartisan resolution by just one vote.

The incident highlights a growing pattern of absences that has added instability to Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives. With the recent death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Republicans can only afford to lose two votes to pass legislation without Democratic support.

“It doesn’t make my job any easier,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after Hunt missed an earlier procedural vote that Republicans narrowly won. That vote was needed to advance spending legislation and avoid a government shutdown.

When questioned about his attendance record, Hunt declined to address whether he was properly representing his constituents. Instead, he referenced an approaching snowstorm forecast to hit Washington D.C., saying, “I just want to make sure that y’all are OK when the storm hits, because it’s coming, especially here in D.C. It’s gonna hit y’all really, really hard.”

After casting his vote on the Venezuela resolution, Hunt immediately left the chamber, repeating “Y’all be safe” as he departed.

The resolution, if successful, would have directed President Trump to remove U.S. military forces from Venezuela, despite the administration’s insistence that no American troops are currently on the ground there.

Hunt’s absence is part of a concerning trend. In 2025, he missed 87 votes—representing 25.1% of all measures considered that year. Notable absences included votes on condemning antisemitism, passage of an anti-deepfake pornography bill, and procedural votes to advance Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. His longest streak of absences came in September when he missed 22 votes over two days during consideration of a water and energy spending bill.

So far in 2026, Hunt has only participated in votes on two days. His absences coincide with his campaign activities in Texas, where he is challenging incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a competitive Republican primary.

While Hunt has typically missed votes expected to pass with wide bipartisan support—measures requiring supermajority approval under the “suspension” process—Thursday’s absence threatened more consequential legislation. Two other Republican representatives, Elise Stefanik of New York and Tom McClintock of California, also missed votes Thursday, though Stefanik arrived in time for the Venezuela resolution.

Hunt’s office defended his record, insisting that “zero bills, resolutions, or GOP priorities have been delayed or stopped because of Rep. Hunt’s priority to barnstorm Texas to retire John Cornyn.” The statement added that GOP leadership had initially indicated Hunt wouldn’t be needed in Washington this week, but Speaker Johnson personally called Thursday afternoon when the situation changed.

“In the middle of his campaign to retire a career politician of over 40 years, 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,” Hunt’s office stated.

Senator Cornyn responded critically to Hunt’s behavior on social media, noting that while Republicans ultimately passed the final spending package without Hunt, he “nearly handed Democrats a PR coup and created chaos on the House floor as GOP leaders were forced to hold open a vote on a measure to block U.S. military presence in Venezuela.”

The incident underscores the precarious position House Republicans find themselves in with their diminished majority, where a single absence can potentially derail their legislative agenda.