House set to vote on Rep. Luna's inherent contempt push on Merrick Garland
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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL). Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
The House is slated to take up Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's (R-Fla.) anti-Merrick Garland resolution on Thursday after she rallied enough support to overcome two attempts to block her from forcing a vote this week.
Why it matters: The move came as top Republicans urged the Florida Republican to hold off due to a range of "legal, political, institutional and practical concerns" and hopes of avoiding showcasing divisions within the conference amid Democrats' internal feud President Biden's future.
- Luna's resolution would fine the attorney general $10,000 a day for flouting a congressional subpoena.
- Despite senior Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), urging against forcing the vote this week, Luna ultimately opted to pull the trigger on starting the process on forcing the vote with the blessing of former President Trump.
- "I AGREE with Anna Paulina Luna and the many House Members who think Merrick Garland should be held in INHERENT CONTEMPT for refusing to release the Biden Tapes even though they were subpoenaed," Trump posted on Truth social.
While Johnson had reservations, telling reporters on Tuesday his "preference is to follow the legal process and legal proceedings," he ultimately voted against blocking a vote.
- Critics noted that the House Judiciary Committee has already sued Garland for the audio tapes of special counsel Robert Hur's interview with Biden, and the House has already passed a contempt resolution.
The intrigue: During a closed door conference meeting on Tuesday, Johnson called for members to remain unified and let Democrats "implode without any interference" from Republicans, a source in the room told Axios.
- Luna revised from an initial draft — which would have sent the chamber's sergeant-at-arms to arrest Garland — following pushback from her GOP colleagues concerned with both the language and the impact it could have on frontliners' races in November.
