Tuesday night's vote represents a specifically rough patch for Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy. Rank-and-file reject Patriot Act

House Republicans Tuesday night got a harsh introduction to the majority, as more than two dozen rank-and-file GOP lawmakers voted against reauthorizing the Patriot Act.

And just hours before the vote on the Bush-era homeland security measure, GOP leaders yanked a trade bill from consideration as the Ways and Means Committee is “working through issues.”


There was no sign that the leadership saw the setbacks coming. The Patriot Act was moved to the floor under suspension of the rules — a provision that requires two-thirds majority (290 votes) to pass and is often used for noncontroversial legislation. After holding the vote open well past the 15-minute window, it failed 277 to 148 with five Republicans and four Democrats not voting.

Republican leaders will bring the bill back to the floor under a rule, where it will almost certainly secure the 218-vote threshold.

It was a specifically rough patch for Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was the subject of much finger-pointing after the vote, as he is charged with vote-counting. Erica Elliott, spokesman for McCarthy, noted that most House Democrats voted against the bill, “deny[ing] their own administration’s request for key weapons in the war on terror.”

Other Republicans blamed Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) for the debacle. Sensenbrenner is a senior Judiciary Committee Republican.

Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office had no comment on the trade bill or Patriot Act failure. He did not vote, which is somewhat of a tradition for the speaker. Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and McCarthy voted for the Patriot Act extension.

The Patriot Act has long been a contentious issue on Capitol Hill. It was passed shortly after Sept. 11 to give the government expanded surveillance powers, while breaking down barriers between the CIA, FBI and other intelligence agencies.

But many — ranging from liberals like Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), to libertarians like Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) — have long expressed concerns over the sweeping breadth of the legislation. Kucinich called Tuesday’s vote a “significant defeat,” adding that it will “fuel opposition” to the measure nationwide.

Indeed, many members were concerned about Patriot Act provisions that would allow the government to access medical and business records, GOP sources said.

And a handful of the no-votes were freshmen who felt completely uninformed by their leadership. Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.), who voted for the bill, said he “didn’t know anything about (the vote) until today.”

“In a free society you have to be very careful as to taking away the civil liberties of the American people” Rokita said. “Even if the bill is well intentioned and the law is well intentioned it can be used against innocent people. So that was my concern. But I’m here looking at a reauthorization at the end of the year and I’ll look at it more closely then.”

GOP leaders seemed unable to flip swing votes as the bill stalled on the floor. McCarthy and Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) cornered Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) on the floor — the Georgia appropriator didn’t flip his vote.

Twenty-six Republicans voted against the Patriot Act extension, but only eight were freshmen — Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Chris Gibson (N.Y.), Randy Hultgren (Ill.), Raul Labrador (Idaho), Bobby Schilling (Ill.), Dave Schweikert (Ariz.) and Rob Woodall (Ga.).

Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) voted against the extension, while his wife, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), voted for it.

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Steve Israel (N.Y.) and Henry Cuellar (Texas) all voted for the bill. Committee leaders including Reps. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) also voted for the bill. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Judiciary Committee Ranking Democrat John Conyers (Mich.) voted against extending the bill.

Altogether, 122 Democrats voted no, and 67 voted yes. Republican votes to back the bill numbered 210.

“I don’t how much you can read into one vote,” Hoyer told POLITICO. “After all, we’re still very early in the session, we’ve had very little business on the floor, as you’ve noticed.”

Hoyer added, “I think they’re clearly going to have difficulty. When you have their response to the State of the Union, and Paul Ryan being their choice and then Michele Bachmann also gives one, they’re clearly differences within their conference and they’re going to have to work it out.”

Other Democrats were giddy Tuesday night at the defeat. They knocked Republicans for not putting the bill through committee – something they all but promised they’d do during the midterm campaign season. And Hoyer’s office called it “another rough day for the new majority.”

Another Democratic aide put it more simply: “Governing 101: make sure you have the votes. Governing 102: make sure you understand your own members.”

John Bresnahan, Richard E. Cohen, Meredith Shiner and Scott Wong contributed to this report.