It may not be for the reason you expect. The South Carolinian says he still believes there were “real issues with the election.” However, among the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump over the insurrection, Rice is the only one who voted for certification challenges to Biden’s win — and he now says he regrets casting those votes. Rice’s contrition comes from Trump’s failure to intervene when a mob of his own supporters stormed the Capitol in order to try to stop the certification.
“In retrospect I should have voted to certify because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol.”
“In the wee hours of that disgraceful night, while waiting for the Capitol of our great country to be secured, I knew I should vote to certify. But because I had made a public announcement of my intent to object, I did not want to go back on my word. So yeah, I regret my vote to object.”
He explained: Rice argued the outgoing president watched “with pride” from the safety of the White House and “did nothing to stop it” —despite pleas from Trump’s friends and family — as Capitol Police were beaten for hours, the House was “sacked and defaced” and Vice President Mike Pence and his family fled for their lives. The result, Rice noted, was five dead and hundreds injured.
“There was a coward in that equation, but it wasn’t Mike Pence.”
Read his statement at Politico
