More lawmakers fall asleep during early morning vote
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Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are still having trouble staying awake through their overnight sessions negotiating President Donald Trump 's 'big beautiful bill.'
In the middle of a session that spanned into the early hours of Wednesday morning, it was 71-year-old Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) who was caught on camera dozing off this time.
The 1:00 a.m. vote on the multi-trillion-dollar bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, but is widely criticized by Democrats for gutting social programs like Medicaid and food assistance. Critics claim that Republicans are being bullied by Trump into holding the vote that's forced members of Congress to stay in session overnight on more than one occasion.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) tore into Norman in an X post exposing him for falling asleep around 2:15 a.m. during the consequential session. 'Rep. Ralph Norman is ripping health care away from 13 million Americans not exciting enough to stay awake?' the 65-year-old congresswoman posted along with a clip of Norman slipping into sleep.
Some on social media pointed to Norman's age as the problem, claiming there needs to be limitations on how old a serving member of Congress can be. 'We need mandatory retirement for ALL politicians in addition to term limits,' one user responded to the footage. 'It's the only way to ensure relevant leadership at the top. The federal Congress and Senate shouldn't be in the Nursing Home business.'
But just a week prior during another overnight session, three other members were caught sleeping on the job – one who is relatively young compared to the average age of those serving in Congress. Utah Republican Rep. Blake Moore, 44, was among those who was taped dozing off during the bill markup overnight from May 13 to 14.
A clip shows the lawmaker being gently shaken awake by a colleague after he missed a question during his nap. Other clips emerged that night showing 71-year-old Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and 80-year-old Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) asleep on Capitol Hill.
The Wednesday morning snooze-fest sparked outrage online – as did the latest mid-session nap from Norman. It's not clear what other lawmakers were sleeping but not caught on camera, but the late night sessions are clearly weighing on several members – Democrat and Republican alike.
'As a former lobbyist, I can tell you that sleeping on the job is one of the few things that Democrats and Republicans have in common,' one X user wrote when the latest clip emerged on Wednesday morning.
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