With 20 minutes to go until the House held its first votes of the day around 4 p.m. on Thursday, nearly a dozen Republicans were still on an Amtrak train from Manhattan to Washington, D.C.
Their absences wouldn’t mean much in a typical Congress, but for the GOP’s paper-thin majority, just a few missing lawmakers means GOP leaders have to delay votes — or risk Democrats, temporarily, holding the majority on the House floor.
But as former President Donald Trump stands trial in Manhattan, his most devoted lawmakers have decided it’s more important to make appearances at the courthouse than it is to show up for work in Congress, proverbially kissing the ring and literally positioning themselves for future spots in a theoretical Trump administration.