After violence at Capitol, Van Drew casts vote as lone NJ congressman against Biden win
Dustin RacioppiAn insurrection of rioters at the U.S. Capitol building and the shooting death of a woman did not stop Rep. Jeff Van Drew from siding with the cause of the pro-Trump mob responsible for the historic mayhem Wednesday.
Once a centrist and low-profile Democratic state senator known for opposing his party on bedrock issues such as same-sex marriage, Van Drew marked his name in the history books Wednesday night as the only Congress member from New Jersey to object to certifying Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
Van Drew, who pledged "undying support" to President Donald Trump when he switched parties in 2019, was one of more than 100 Republicans in the House who objected to the certification.
New Jersey's only other Republican congressman, Chris Smith, did not object.
Van Drew had said he was against certifying states that did not follow their own laws setting rules in the election, though there has been no evidence of fraud, abuse or violations in the many unsuccessful legal challenges by Trump's lawyers and supporters since November.
"At the core of our country's greatness is our democratic system of government," Van Drew said in a brief speech Wednesday night from the Capitol floor. "Without faith in the integrity in our elections, Americans will not have faith in our democracy."
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Van Drew's vote came on a day with no modern precedent of disrupting democracy itself.
After Trump directed a crowd of supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol using suggestive language — "you will never take back our country with weakness" — a mob of thousands pushed through police barriers and forced their way into Senate chambers.
They stalked the hallways of the Capitol building bearing Confederate and Trump flags, broke windows and looted offices, including that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Their goal was to disrupt and, perhaps, even overturn the election they were falsely led to believe by Trump was fraudulent and stolen from him.
The anarchic parade forced lawmakers to don gas masks and flee to safe spaces. A woman was shot and killed by the U.S. Capitol Police, one of four fatalities connected to the upheaval.
Van Drew condemned the violence, saying in a statement it was "un-American, and disrespectful of democracy." He said he reached out to Trump to ask his supporters to leave the building.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Van Drew seemed to suggest it was a minority of protesters in an unspecified "organization" who turned aggressive and violent.
"That does not represent most of the people who are involved in that organization," he said, "but evidently there were some people there that were violent, and that's something that is not and should not ever be accepted, period."
Dustin Racioppi is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. For unlimited access to his work covering New Jersey’s governor and political power structure, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: racioppi@northjersey.com
Twitter: @dracioppi