Representative-elect Jimmy Gomez (D., Calif.) will officially become a House member on Tuesday, but it remains unclear whether he will first vote on a California assembly cap-and-trade bill on Monday.
A Gomez spokeswoman on Friday announced that he would be sworn in to the House of Representatives July 11 but did not say whether he would first vote on Monday for a bill extending California’s cap and trade law, a Democratic-backed program aimed at slowing climate change.
The spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a Washington Free Beacon inquiry Friday afternoon.
Republicans, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), have accused Gomez of neglecting his job in order to remain in the California assembly to provide a two-thirds majority vote on the cap-and-trade bill to help protect it from legal challenges, a high-priority for California Gov. Jerry Brown.
Gomez won a June 6 special election to replace Rep. Xavier Becerra (D., Calif.), who resigned to become California attorney general in January. However, Gomez has waited more than a month to officially take on his congressional duties and has publicly acknowledged that a delay was intended to allow him time to vote on the cap-and-trade bill.
California lawmakers have been hashing out the final version of the bill over the past several weeks with key sticking points focused how to regulate local air pollution and contain costs for businesses and consumers, the Associated Press reported earlier this week.
Gomez described himself in a statement Friday as a "passionate champion of the environment" who is dedicated to moving away from fossil fuel usage and towards "more sustainable options."
"We must not let the advances made in the previous administration be rolled back," Gomez says. "My record of environmental justice speaks for itself and that is a fight that I plan to continue in D.C."
"I want to see this country invest in sustainable energy and increased mass transit, while at the same time providing new jobs to working-class Americans. It's not an either/or," he said. "We can and should do both."
McCarthy has accused Gomez and other Democratic lawmakers of ratcheting up taxes on California citizens in support of their environmental agenda.
"They have already increased the gas tax on California citizens and now they want to increase it even higher?" McCarthy asked in an interview on Fox News two weeks ago. "I think he is neglecting his job. Either he wants to be a member of Congress, or he should be honest with his constituents and we should elect somebody who wants to come here and work day one."
McCarthy also sent a letter in late June questioning the delay to Gomez, Pelosi and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Gomez should resign if the delay continues, McCarthy wrote.