A New York Republican is getting heat from his allies and enemies alike after missing a vote on the House budget package – due to falling asleep.
After a drawn out session of Congress lasted through Wednesday night into Thursday morning, GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) who represents part of Long Island missed the vote on the House reconciliation package.
The legislation – referred to colloquially as President Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ – is a key trillion-dollar funding package through which the administration’s agenda can be enacted.
The bill narrowly passed the House on 215-214 vote.
After the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) noted that he should have had at least two more colleagues in favor of the package, including one from Garbarino who ‘fell asleep in the back, no kidding.’
‘I’m going to just strangle him,’ Johnson jokingly told reporters about Garbarino.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., makes his way to a House Republican Conference meeting with President Donald Trump on the budget reconciliation bill in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 20, 2025
U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 14, 2025 in Washington, DC
‘I’m going to just strangle him,’ Johnson jokingly told reporters after the vote, ‘but he’s my dear friend.’
As a Republican representing part of a high-tax blue state, Garbarino played a key part in the bill’s negotiations as a member of the SALT Caucus.
In a statement issued by his office after missing the key vote, Garbarino said he would have voted for the bill.
‘I am proud to have been the leading voice on Long Island during negotiations on this key reconciliation bill’
‘I fought to lift the cap on SALT and ensure hardworking Long Island families see the benefits of this important legislation.’
‘I was moments away from the House floor, to vote ‘yes,’ when the vote was closed. While I am frustrated that the vote was closed before I was able to cast my vote, I am proud of the work we accomplished to deliver huge results for Long Island,’ he concluded.
Still, those words were not enough to fend off the flurry of memes and jokes generated by the incident, shared on social media by both Democrats and Garbarino’s GOP colleagues, as well as some internet rabblerousers.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) was one to call out his colleague, writing ‘One Big Beautiful Snooze…After all that posturing on SALT, Garbarino couldn’t even manage to wake himself up to vote for the bill,’ on a post on X.
Kevin Smith, a New York conservative activist from Long Island and founder of the Loud Majority, wrote ‘Long Island Rep Andrew Garbarino. FELL ASLEEP and missed the vote. On behalf of all of Long Island I apologize for this idiot.’
X user Amuse, who boasts over 600k followers, shared a photoshopped image of Garbarino in pajamas with a disheveled bed behind him.
Juju_marie1, another X user, posted an illustration of Garbarino in a bed with a night cap and a steaming warm drink in his hands.
