Lauren Boebert has claimed that she intentionally missed the House vote on the debt ceiling deal - after reports that she actually tried to attend but was too late.
The Colorado Republican emerged as one of the fiercest critics of the debt ceiling deal brokered by House leader Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden to avoid a catastrophic default.
But when it was time for the House of Representatives to cast their votes on Wednesday night, she failed to show up.
Ms Boebert was mocked on social media after she reportedly “narrowly missed the vote, running up the steps right as they gaveled”, according to Axios Capitol Hill reporter Juliegrace Brufke.
But Ms Boebert sought to refute that account in a video message on Saturday after Mr Biden signed the legislation - which she branded a “c**p sandwich”.
“No excuses, I was ticked off they wouldn’t let me do my job, so I didn’t take the vote,” she said in blurry footage filmed outside.
“Once again Washington’s power machine shoved a multi-trillion-dollar bill down our throats, refused to allow debate or amendments, disregarded everything we fought for in January to actually allow representatives to do their jobs.
“Instead, they served us up a c**p sandwich.”
She went on to claim that she made her stance known - despite not doing it in the way that matters: the vote.
“Call it a no-show protest, but I certainly let all of my colleagues and the country know I was against this garbage of a bill, and against bypassing the voice of each representative,” she said.
“Deals cut in the dark are why we’re headed towards $36 trillion in debt, and I refuse to be a part of it.”
Spencer Soicher, a reporter from Ms Boebert’s home state of Colorado, previously pointed out that she had made 23 Twitter posts in the past week voicing her displeasure with the compromise deal.
Democrat Adam Frisch, who in 2022 lost his bid to unseat Ms Boebert in Colorado’s third district by just 546 votes, wrote on Twitter: “How can you represent #CO03 when you don’t even show up? What was more important than voting?”
Jon Cooper, who chairs The Democratic Coalition, tweeted: “Lauren Boebert was a vocal opponent of the bipartisan debt ceiling bill — but she ended up MISSING tonight's vote entirely. Is anyone surprised?”
How can you represent #CO03 when you don’t even show up?
— Adam Frisch for CD-3 (@AdamForColorado) June 1, 2023
What was more important than voting? https://t.co/txFyN21ukR
Ms Boebert had earlier vowed to vote against the debt ceiling deal, saying on Tuesday that the bill was a “bunch of fake news and fake talking points” that did nothing to rein in federal spending.
“If every Republican voted the way that they campaigned, they would vote against tomorrow's bad deal.”
The House voted overwhelmingly by 314 to 117 to raise the debt limit, after Republicans were given concessions to cut IRS funding and increase work requirements on social spending programmes.
A total of 71 Republicans voted against the deal, along with 46 Democrats, avoiding an apocalyptic scenario where the US would default on its debts.
The bill then passed the Senate before landing on Mr Biden’s desk.
