The vote was 23-19 in favor of moving forward with holding Garland in contempt. The resolution was put forward against Garland for refusing to hand over audio recordings from special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden related to his classified documents case.

Earlier in the day, the House Judiciary Committee voted to move forward with its own contempt resolution. Oversight was supposed to have their meeting in the morning as well, but they pushed it to 8 p.m. because several Republican committee members attended former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial in New York.

That was a point of contention upon the start of the hearing Thursday night, with Democrats, such as Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) upset about the nature of the delay, with the latter calling it “Oversight after Dark.”

The temperature of the hearing was raised after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took a jab at Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s (D-TX) appearance, leading Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to demand an apology. MTG refused to give one, even attacking AOC’s intelligence as she spoke.

The hearing reached a boiling point when Crockett’s time to speak came up, and she went after MTG’s appearance, prompting Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) to call her out of line and Crockett to start yelling and allude to MTG having “talk[ed] s***.” Chairman James Comer (R-KY) desperately tried to maintain order, but he could neither hear nor handle all of the various voices and comments going back and forth to put a stop to it.

The hearing eventually went to recess, before resuming, and eventually, about three hours after its start, the committee finished voting on the resolution that brought them all there.

The moves by the GOP-led House Oversight and Judiciary committees are part of a larger effort by Republicans to build an impeachment case against Biden over his handling of classified documents.

“The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees issued lawful subpoenas to Attorney General Garland for the audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Hur, yet he continues to defy our subpoenas,”  Comer said in advance of the hearing.

“These audio recordings are important to our investigation of President Biden’s willful retention of classified documents and his fitness to be President of the United States. There must be consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas and we will move to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress,” he added, fortelling what was to come.

The hearing got off to a rocky start regarding why everyone was meeting — committee members were discussing whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt — and why so late in the day. Greene asked committee Democrats if any of them was employing Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter, alluding to the New York hush money trial former President Donald Trump faces.

Crockett responded by asking what that had to do with Garland, asking Greene if she knew what they were meeting for. “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up your reading,” Greene shot back.

Greene’s comment angered Rep. Alexandria Oscasio-Cortez (D-NY), who demanded that Greene’s words be struck from the record. 

“Are your feelings hurt?” Greene asked Oscasio-Cortez. 

“Oh baby girl … don’t even play,” Oscasio-Cortez said.

The exchange derailed the meeting for a half hour as Crockett, Oscasio-Cortez, Greene, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) went back and forth, with Chairman James Comer (R-KY) trying desperately to maintain order. 

Oscasio-Cortez demanded that Greene apologize for her comment, but instead, Greene refused and suggested that Oscasio-Cortez debate her instead. Greene went on to say that Oscasio-Cortez does not have the intelligence to debate her. Oscasio-Cortez then moved for Greene’s words to be struck again.

When Crockett was given time to speak, she alluded to Greene having a “bleach blonde, bad-built, butch body.” Crockett smiled after her remark, and a shouting match ensued. Luna told the Texas Democrat to calm down.

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” Crockett demanded. “Because if I come and talk s*** about her, y’all are going to have a problem.”

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By 10 p.m., a vote on holding Garland in contempt of Congress was still not taken. Earlier in the day, the House Judiciary Committee voted to advance the contempt resolution against Garland for refusing to hand over audio recordings from special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Biden related to his classified documents case.

Oversight Democrats were upset that the hearing was pushed until the evening Thursday due to a handful of Republicans on the committee going to Manhattan to support Trump in his trial.

Lawmakers voted 224-187 to pass the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, which decries Biden’s “dangerous hold” on weapons to Israel while also proposing to withhold funds from the secretaries of state and defense as well as the National Security Council until the materials are delivered. The resolution passed largely along party lines, with 16 Democrats joining in advancing the measure. 

The resolution condemns Biden’s actions and would require his administration to expedite weapons, funds, and other forms of aid within 30 days. The bill has overwhelming GOP support, particularly after Biden threatened last week that he would stop providing artillery shells and other weapons to Israel if it invaded the city of Rafah. 

However, the bill prompted backlash from even some of the most pro-Israel Democrats, who argued the resolution only served as a political weapon. 

“This is a completely misleading and unnecessary bill,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) told reporters on Wednesday. “Everything it calls for, the administration is already doing. And it is just yet another example of the Republicans using Israel and antisemitism for their own political purposes.”

Despite passing the House, the bill faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-led Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has already said the measure is “going nowhere.” Even if it did manage to pass the Senate, Biden has already threatened to veto the resolution should it make it to his desk. 

That threat angered House GOP leadership, who accused Democrats of putting one of the country’s allies at risk as it fights off the Hamas militant group. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called on Schumer to bring the legislation to the Senate floor hours before the vote, saying Congress “needs to help Israel extinguish the flame of terror that is wrought by Hamas.”

“You are either with Israel or you are not,” Johnson said. “If Schumer refuses to bring this up for a vote, he’ll be telling the world that his party, the Democrats, are no longer willing to stand with our great allies. I don’t think that that is a palatable position for the American people.” 

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The White House has pushed back on that suggestion, arguing the bill is a “misguided reaction to a deliberate distortion” of Biden’s strategy in Israel. 

“The President has been clear: we will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” the White House said in a statement. “Our commitment to Israel is ironclad.”

“What they have done is weaponize all federal agencies on behalf of President Biden’s reelection campaign,” House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) said during a Thursday hearing on noncitizen voting and foreign influence in elections.

“Our federal agencies should be focused on serving the American people, not focused on reelecting President Biden,” Steil said in the hearing. “As we see the actions taken by this administration to leverage taxpayer dollars for political purposes, that should be concerning to all citizens.”

Steil’s comments on Thursday come after multiple reports from the Washington Examiner on how groups linked to the planning and implementation of Biden’s executive order, which was issued in March 2021, appear to be overwhelmingly of the progressive Left. The order calls for agencies to register voters with the help of “approved, nonpartisan third-party organizations and state officials.”

A Washington Examiner investigation found that staffers from one group called Vot-ER listed as having been on a 2021 planning call with groups for the executive order is funded by Democratic dark money groups and led by left-wing activists. Some legal experts have raised concerns over whether Vot-ER and its partners in taxpayer-funded public health centers are acting nonpartisan in accordance with federal rules.

Documents show that other groups with staffers on that call were from the George Soros-backed Open Society Policy Center, End Citizens United, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund, the Brennan Center for Justice, and other left-wing activist hubs.

On Wednesday, Steil sent a letter to the Transportation Department asking for information about its plans to implement Biden’s executive order on voter turnout.

“We are certain you agree with us that every eligible U.S. citizen who chooses to register to vote must have the opportunity to do so; furthermore, every lawful vote must count. Increased voter registration and participation is a goal all Americans share. At the same time, our system requires that our actions must always comply with the Constitution and federal law,” Steil wrote in the letter, echoing concerns from other lawmakers that the order appears to skirt several laws and is unconstitutional.

During the Thursday hearing, Steil said he looked forward to the government swiftly replying and said the order is a “real concern.” Much of the hearing focused on tightening laws to stop foreign nationals from exerting influence over elections in the United States and concerns from the GOP about noncitizens voting — the latter of which Democrats said is far overblown.

“It’s not something that is easily provable,” said Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-NY), the committee’s ranking member. “Not provable, because there is no proof … Republicans aren’t governing based on facts. Frankly, they’re not governing at all and it’s an embarrassment.”

Unearthed documents obtained by the Washington Examiner on the 2021 executive order planning call show that some groups suggested agencies work to register undocumented immigrants to vote, among others.

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One conservative witness during the hearing urged for stricter regulations and said noncitizen voting harms the country.

“We should provide both access and secure the election process for all eligible U.S. citizens but allowing aliens to participate in the election process unfairly dilutes the votes of all citizens regardless of their race or which political party they are affiliated with,” Hans von Spakovsky, a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, testified in the hearing.

Judiciary Committee members voted 18 to 15 to advance the contempt resolution against Garland for refusing to hand over audio recordings from special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Biden related to his classified documents case.

The House Oversight Committee, the other committee taking up a contempt resolution, moved their meeting from Thursday morning to 8 p.m. on Thursday night to accommodate the attendance of several Oversight GOP members at former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial in New York.

While Republicans traveled to the Empire State, Biden went on the offense ahead of the House Judiciary Committee’s markup on the resolution. The Justice Department announced Thursday morning that the president was asserting executive privilege over the recordings, placing another roadblock in the way of House Republicans as they continue to argue with the DOJ over whether Congress should have access to the audio recording.

Now that the contempt resolution has been advanced, it will go to the floor for a full House vote to be scheduled by House leadership. If it passes the full House, a criminal referral is made to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., which must then weigh whether to move forward with prosecution.

The committee’s contempt resolution would likely not result in any criminal proceedings for Garland, as he heads the Justice Department. Spokespeople for the DOJ have disputed the legitimacy of the committee’s efforts and warned that releasing audio would have a chilling effect on witnesses coming forward to law enforcement.

House GOP members on the Judiciary Committee spent most of the hearing declaring that the executive branch “doesn’t get to choose” what evidence they provide to the committee, while House Democrats blasted Republicans for politicizing the issue and wanting the audio recording for “Donald Trump’s campaign commercials” or use Biden’s stutter to “smear” him.

A major talking point during the hearing was whether Republicans displayed a need for the audio recording while already possessing Hur’s interview transcript. Some Judiciary GOP members claimed the transcript could have been altered and fake during the hearing, and others said executive privilege is not applicable during an impeachment inquiry.

“That tape must be quite something if the administration of the president has decided to assert executive privilege to keep it from the committee in the course of an impeachment inquiry. Think about it,” Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) said. “The basis for withholding the audio recording, when the transcript has been furnished, must rest on something about the recording that is distinct from the information contained in the transcript.”

Though the president’s conduct posed “serious risks to national security,” Hur said in his report that he did not charge Biden because he believed a jury would find him a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” and likely not convict him for this reason.

Republicans latched onto those lines quickly as evidence that the president is not mentally competent to serve as commander-in-chief, believing that the audio recording will shed light on Biden’s mannerisms, colloquialisms, and ability to answer questions.

“They don’t get to choose,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) said.

“The person providing the evidence doesn’t get to choose the manner in form in which the evidence is provided. … There’s a difference between a transcript and a video and audio,” Armstrong continued. “And I don’t possibly understand the argument of ‘we’ll release the transcript, but we won’t release the tapes.’”

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) pushed back against Republicans‘ reasoning for wanting the audio recording, arguing that Hur specified the differences in Biden’s classified documents case compared to Trump’s case.

“There’s a reason Trump sits alone, or will sit alone at this criminal trial that’s upcoming — it’s because he acted to obstruct justice. Biden and [Mike] Pence did not,” Ivey said.

Ivey also argued that Republicans did not raise concerns with Hur about lying or altering his findings when the special counsel testified on Capitol Hill in March.

“He said, ‘No, I’m not trying to hide anything. I’m not trying to protect the president. We’re not trying to slant anything. I did this. I called the balls and strikes as I saw him,'” Ivey said, referring to Hur. “And you know, I think it’s a bit of a smear to sort of suggest otherwise. And it’s a little unfair to do it now when he’s not here, when you had the chance to do it when he was here.”

During the hearing, Democrats slammed Republicans who skipped out on the markup to attend Trump’s trial. 

“It’s nice to see that some of my colleagues on the other side can make it today,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said. “I don’t know if that means that there weren’t enough seats in the courtroom in New York.”

“I know some members will miss this vote, because they want to be at the president’s trial, and I don’t think that anything could animate the phrase ‘do nothing Congress’ more than missing votes and canceling hearings to go up and be a spectator at your cult leader’s trial,” Swalwell added. “That is the definition of ‘do nothing Congress.’”

However, Republicans like Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) continuously criticized House Democrats for bringing the discussion to Trump and his hush money trial.

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“That’s not why we’re here,” Van Drew said. “…The issue is, this committee feels that it needs an audio transcript because the charges, the concerns, are so serious.”

“I wish we didn’t have to have this hearing either,” Van Drew added later. “The chairman wouldn’t have called this hearing if simply [the DOJ] had said, ‘Yes, you can have the video recordings, you can actually check out his demeanor.'”

They’re also being told to cover their faces with masks and to “remove identifiable clothing” in fear they will be identified. Staff are being encouraged to hide their staff IDs as well.

An anonymous organizer with the “M” moniker told the Washington Examiner why protesters were protecting their identities.

“We understand there is an inherent risk in speaking out, which is why we are encouraging staff to remove identifiable clothing and wear masks to protect their identities as best they can,” they said. 

“We know the fear of identification and retaliation has led some staffers to reconsider their ability to participate, but we hope and expect a good number to show anyway in a display of bravery in standing up to our bosses who continue to ignore the will of their constituents each and every day.”

The protest is being organized by “Congressional staff for a Ceasefire Now,” a group that has previously had its members demonstrate and describes themselves as having “150+” members who are staffers.

“Today, we are once again gathered as congressional staff because too many of our bosses have failed to act,” a statement said. “The American people are calling their Members of Congress every day to demand the United States take steps to stop Israel’s assault on Gaza and lead with the moral clarity that saves lives. We are the staffers taking their calls.”

“We have answered hundreds of thousands of messages from constituents demanding an immediate ceasefire, a surge of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages,” the statement added. “Instead, disclosures indicate the Biden administration is sending an additional $1 billion of weapons to Israel and has yet to commit to a meaningful freeze on future weapons transfers despite acknowledging just last week that U.S. weapons are likely being used to commit war crimes.”

The group has a “protest safety tips” section which includes many pieces of information for how staffers can hide their identity like hiding tattoos, wearing shoes and clothes they don’t normally wear, and turning off identifying phone settings.

“After fueling this war with billions of taxpayer dollars in weapons for Israel, Members of Congress are about to hold a vote to override the Biden administration’s meager steps toward civilian protection. As over one million Palestinian civilians await a brutal invasion of Rafah, as Gazan children starve from a man-made famine, and as over 100 unaccounted-for Israeli hostages may be in the line of fire, we are calling on President Biden and Congress to listen to their constituents as we have and immediately end U.S. support for Israel’s assault on the civilians of Gaza before it is too late.”

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Other pro-Palestinian protesters have tried to hide their identities with masks and other methods in the past, including in the nationwide college campus protests.

The rally is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. at the “base of the House steps.”

The vote points to troubles Democrats and President Joe Biden have when it comes to addressing immigration policies, with the president’s approval rating for handling the matter at an all-time low.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) introduced the Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act, which would cement the Republican Party’s law and order policies and force vulnerable Democrats to take a hard vote. Van Drew left the Democratic Party in 2020 over his disagreement with the party regarding the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is one of the Democrats whom Republicans expected to vote for the bill in the House. Gallego is in the middle of a Senate race in the swing state of Arizona and looking to score goodwill with voters concerned about illegal immigration.

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Gallego is not alone. His shift to the center is emblematic of the 54 Democratic defectors who voted in favor of the bill.

Reps. Susie Lee (D-NV), Mike Levin (D-CA), and Pat Ryan (D-NY) represent a growing number of vulnerable members who have abandoned progressives, recognizing voters’ frustration with the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis.

Good stood alongside Virginia state Sen. John McGuire as a group of House Republicans spoke to reporters outside the Manhattan criminal court on Thursday in support of Trump, who has entered the fifth week of his hush money trial. The joint appearance comes as both candidates have sought to paint themselves as more hard-right than the other, with Trump’s support often crucial in such a tight primary. 

“We’re seeing today what lengths the Democratic Party will go to [in order] to try to rig or steal another election,” Good said. “This is a crooked sham trial to try to hurt the nominee. He’s gonna be the president of the United States whether or not they like it or whether or not they want that to happen.”

McGuire was not part of the roster of congressional speakers but stood near the microphones. As Good and his colleagues wrapped up their defenses of Trump and started walking away, McGuire approached the cameras as if he wanted to speak but was turned away as the media started packing up. He did not give a public statement.

McGuire launched a bid against Good last year after the Virginia Republican threw his support behind Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for the GOP presidential nomination over Trump. The challenge has shaped up to be one of the most contentious GOP primaries in the 2024 cycle, as several of his Republican colleagues are backing McGuire over Good. Trump has not endorsed in the primary.

Good was one of several GOP lawmakers who appeared at the courthouse on Thursday as he was joined by Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Andy Ogles (R-TN). Their visit comes days after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) showed his support for Trump earlier this week, making him the highest-ranking Republican to appear at the courthouse to decry the criminal trial.

Johnson was joined by several other House Republicans, who sought to serve as a voice for the former president as he must comply with a gag order prohibiting him from criticizing witnesses.

“This gag order is to ensure that he cannot defend himself fairly,” Good said. “So we’re here to have his back. We’re here to defend him and to tell the truth.”

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The New York case focuses on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree and marks the first trial of a former president in U.S. history. The charges came shortly after Michael Cohen testified before a grand jury last year detailing his 2018 conviction when he pleaded guilty to paying two women who accused Trump of sexual affairs to be silent, including porn star Stormy Daniels.

As part of the scheme, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 and was later reimbursed by the Trump Organization. Manhattan prosecutors later opened an investigation into whether Trump falsified business records to list the reimbursement as a legal expense.

The act will “prohibit judges from issuing gag orders in certain circumstances” but will allow gag orders in “disclosure of confidential information provided in discovery, to protect the privacy of minors, or as part of a plea agreement.”

The bill would allow eligible defendants to “commence a civil action seeking injunctive relief in the appropriate United States district court.” But the legislation also noted that it may not be “construed as limiting a judge’s authority to issue orders to officers of the court.”

“We have watched for years as a politically weaponized Department of Justice and Democrat activist judges have gone after President Donald J. Trump,” he told Fox News. “There is no right more sacred to Americans than the right to speak freely, as guaranteed in the First Amendment.”

Ogles added that “activists within the justice system are attempting to strip President Trump of this right for the sake of their own political agenda.”

The Tennessee Republican has been a vocal supporter of Trump and appeared with him at his trial on Thursday.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who co-sponsored the bill with nine other Republicans, said, “We have seen how our institutions have gone after President Trump to try and forcibly silence him.”

Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), another co-sponsor, said this “continued weaponization of justice and harassment of President Trump must end.”

Other co-sponsors include Reps. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Mary Miller (R-IL), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Eric Burlison (R-MO), and Eli Crane (R-AZ).

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The bill could pass the Republican-led House but is unlikely to go through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Trump has repeatedly condemned the gag orders in his case and has been found in contempt for violating them.

The group, led by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), sent a letter to the WHO executive board Thursday morning opposing the agency’s recent decision to work with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is set for a final vote next month. The lawmakers urged the board to reject the group’s application to enter into relations, accusing the CRR of attempting to “impose abortion on all countries.”

The Republicans alluded to “numerous examples” in which the CRR has “colluded” with United Nations staff and agencies to influence abortion-rights laws in several countries. This, the lawmakers argued, is part of a broader plan by the group to “undermin[e] sovereignty and [bypass] all democratic processes.”

“The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a radical organization that manipulates international mechanisms to impose abortion on countries,” the letter, which is signed by Biggs and 25 other House Republicans, said. “Even though there is no internationally recognized human rights obligation with regard to abortion either by treaty or customary international law, CRR claims that such an obligation exists.”

The GOP lawmakers warned the WHO is already at risk of not being trusted by a large group of people because of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing multiple pieces of legislation proposed by Republican lawmakers to scale back U.S. support for the WHO.

The group also cited data indicating low support among the public to use “foreign assistance funds to perform or lobby for abortion,” according to the letter. The lawmakers pointed to an annual Marist poll that shows roughly 64% of the public supporting legislation that would prohibit using funds for that purpose.

“When international mechanisms are manipulated to promote abortion, it undermines trust in international cooperation and goodwill towards international institutions,” the letter said. “As members of Congress, we will look upon a decision to give special status to the Center for Reproductive Rights as evidence that the WHO is unreformable and as a further argument to withhold all funding to the organization.”

The letter comes less than three weeks before the WHO is set to convene the 155th session of the executive board on June 2, during which the proposal to enter into relations with the CRR will be under consideration. The CRR pushed back on the letter, arguing its work “promotes access to health care for people around the world.”

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“States have established a process for Non-State Actors to engage with the WHO, and the Center’s application is currently under consideration,” Rebecca Brown, vice president of global advocacy at the CRR, told the Washington Examiner. “We have every confidence in the ongoing process.”

The Washington Examiner also contacted spokespeople for the WHO but has not received a response.