Just as the Texas House was having its own debate on whether they should punish Democrat members for neglecting their duties to the State of Texas, a U.S. Congressman from northeastern Texas abstained from voting to remove a federally indicted Democrat from the Congress’s Homeland Security Committee.
Republican U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, who serves Texas areas including Kilgore, Texarkana, Longview–Marshall, and Tyler, abstained from voting to remove New Jersey Democrat LaMonica McIver from her committee assignments.
In June, McIver was charged in a three-count indictment for “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers.” According to the allegations made by the Department of Justice, McIver impeded and interfered with federal officers while they attempted to arrest the Mayor of Newark at the Delaney Hall Federal Immigration Facility in Newark, New Jersey.
McIver, along with two other members of Congress, was at the facility to conduct a congressional oversight inspection, which coincided with a protest against deporting illegal aliens. While there, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was told he was not authorized to be in the facility’s secured area and was issued multiple warnings to leave the facility or face arrest if he refused.
According to the DOJ, McIver and the two other members overheard the conversation and challenged the officer. When officers moved in to arrest the Mayor, McIver and others surrounded Baraka and actively prevented the officers from handcuffing him.
Baraka was escorted outside, where officers made a second attempt to arrest him. After a person in the protest crowd yelled to “circle the mayor,” McIver placed her arms around Baraka to prevent Homeland Security officers from arresting him. McIver continued to escalate the situation by slamming her forearm into the body of one officer and reaching out to try to restrain the officer by forcibly grabbing him. She also allegedly assaulted another officer by using each of her forearms to strike the officer.
If McIver is convicted, she will face a maximum penalty of eight years in prison for forcible impeding and interfering in Count One, a maximum penalty of eight years for forcible impeding and interfering in Count Two, and a maximum penalty of one year in prison for Count Three.
After McIver was indicted, Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana brought forth a resolution to censure and remove her from the Committee of Homeland Security, stating her service would represent a conflict of interest.
The resolution was presented to the U.S. House on Wednesday, but 215 representatives voted to table the resolution, with five Republicans absent from the vote and two Republicans present but abstaining.
Moran was one of the two Republicans who were present in the chamber and abstained from voting to remove McIver.
Moran assumed office in January 2023, and his term ends in January 2027. He has filed for re-election, and the general election is scheduled for November 3, 2026.