“I think that they’ve (leadership) extended every courtesy to me because sometimes I vote not always with the leadership, I vote my convictions. … But the case here is I have no animus or recrimination toward leadership; in their position I might have done the same thing,” Arizona Congressman Trent Franks told supporters after he was removed from the Republican whip team.
The Hill reported the ouster on Tuesday. According to the report, House GOP leaders kicked off three members from the whip team for opposing a procedural resolution on the fast-track trade bill last Thursday.
Western Caucus members Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) and Steve Pearce (N.M.) were also removed from the team.
Lummis voted against TPA in addition to the linked trade legislation. Commenting on the votes, Lummis stated, “After six years of misleading statements on Obamacare, failed foreign policy, and power grabs over water and land, this president has proven to be untrustworthy at every single turn. I could not bring myself to cast Wyoming’s vote in support of President Obama’s politically driven agenda. I don’t trust him with a clod of dirt, let alone international trade deals.”