House Republicans Vote Before Swearing In

House Republicans were left red-faced yesterday after realizing that two of them had cast votes even though they weren't technically members of Congress. Reps. Pete Sessions and Mike Fitzpatrick skipped this week's official swearing-in ceremony on the House floor to attend a ceremony elsewhere. The eight votes they cast during the 112th Congress will be invalidated, the Washington Post reports.

The two have now been sworn in, and Republicans have pledged to address all the technical issues arising from the error. Democrats were quick to pounce on the blunder, Roll Call notes. “Despite the fact that they read the Constitution today, they should have read it yesterday, actually,” said a senior Democratic aide. “I guess swearing in their members wasn’t part of their pledge.” (More 112th Congress stories.)