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Rep. DesJarlais skips debate to preside over brief pro forma House session
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), a pro-life member who has come under fire for allegedly asking his mistress to get an abortion, skipped a planned Thursday night debate with his Democratic challenger in order to preside over a pro forma session of the House that lasted about two minutes on Friday morning.
DesJarlais's campaign office told the Daily News Journal in late September that he could not attend the Oct. 11 debate with state Sen. Eric Stewart because he was tasked by leadership with presiding over Friday's pro forma session. DesJarlais also attended Thursday's oversight hearing into the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Libya.
As expected, DesJarlais's duties on the House floor were both ceremonial and brief, as the pro forma session was mostly made up of a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. As soon as the latter was done, Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) asked to be recognized to argue in favor of reconvening the House to work on issues such as jobs and taxes.
DesJarlais came under fire earlier this week after the Huffington Post obtained a phone call transcript that showed the congressman in 2000 had pressured his then-mistress, who was also his patient, to have an abortion. DesJarlais did not dispute the contents of the transcript, according to the Huffington Post.
DesJarlais's campaign has not attributed the decision to skip debates with his Democratic opponent to the scandal, and the decision appeared to be made before the controversy broke this week. According to the Daily News Journal, he could not attend two debates in late September and early October because of various campaign activities, and would not make the Oct. 11 debate because of the pro forma duty.
"As a result, we will not be attending these [debate] events," DesJarlais campaign manager Brandon Lewis told the paper.
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