WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt drew renewed criticism for his attendance record on Thursday after narrowly making it to Washington to clinch the GOP’s defeat of a resolution that would have blocked further military action in Venezuela.
It marked only the fourth time Hunt has cast a vote on the House floor this year, out of 48 votes held in the lower chamber since lawmakers resumed business earlier this month. The absences come as the Houston Republican is waging a primary challenge against U.S. Sen John Cornyn, who has seized on Hunt’s spotty voting record with a series of jabs on social media.
A Hunt spokesperson defended the absences, saying that no “bills, resolutions, or GOP priorities have been delayed or stopped because of Rep. Hunt’s priority of barnstorming Texas to retire John Cornyn.” On Friday, responding to what he described as “anyone clutching pearls about missed votes,” Hunt added on social media that he has been “crisscrossing Texas nonstop” on the campaign trail.
“Anytime you run for higher office, you miss votes. Period,” Hunt posted.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, held Thursday’s vote open for more than 20 minutes while the chamber awaited Hunt’s arrival, prompting shouts from Democrats on the House floor urging Johnson to close the vote.
Hunt’s 92% rate of missed votes this year has elevated his career mark to 20%, or missing one in five votes since he took office in 2023. Thursday’s vote was Hunt’s first since Jan. 7.
The median percentage of missed votes among current representatives is 2%, according to GovTrack, a nonprofit website that monitors congressional voting records. Rep. Chip Roy, an Austin Republican who is also running for statewide office in a four-way primary for attorney general, has not missed any votes this month. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, has missed two as she runs opposite Hunt in the Democratic Senate primary.
Cornyn, who has missed one vote this year, has repeatedly bashed Hunt on social media over his attendance, while his campaign has launched a website, whereswesleyhunt.com, to highlight the issue.
“Wesley Hunt is refusing to fight for Trump’s agenda by putting his selfish political ambitions before his responsibilities,” Cornyn campaign spokesperson Matt Mackowiak said in a statement. “He needs to do his job.”
In the primary, Hunt also faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has remained quiet on the issue.
The Houston Republican previously said in a news release that his absences were due to the premature birth of his son in 2023 and time he spent campaigning with President Donald Trump in 2024.
House Republicans currently have a thin majority, one that slimmed further after the death of California Rep. Dough LaMalfa and the midsession retirement of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Those vacancies leave the GOP with 218 seats to Democrats’ 213, meaning Johnson can afford just two defections or four absences on party-line votes if every Democrat is present and votes against the measure. Additionally, the minority party is set to grow its ranks after a Jan. 31 special election runoff between two Democrats running to fill the Houston-area seat held by Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died last March.
Earlier on Thursday, Hunt missed a procedural vote setting up four appropriations bills, including one to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Johnson told reporters that day he was surprised by Hunt’s decision to miss the vote and had expected him to be there.
Rep. Greg Casar, an Austin Democrat who is running in Texas’ 37th Congressional District, is the only other Texas lawmaker who has missed more than half of roll call votes over the last 10 days. Casar has been absent for about 58% of votes since the start of the year, but otherwise missed few since taking office in 2023.
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