The U.S. House has rejected a Republican resolution condemning Speaker Nancy Pelosi for ripping up a copy of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech.
The party line vote comes one day after Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL 01, took to Twitter to announce he planned to file an ethics complaint against Pelosi.
The north Florida Republican wrote, “her conduct was beneath the dignity of the House, and a potential violation of law (18 USC 2071). Nobody is above the law. She must be held accountable.”
READ: ‘It was a manifesto of mistruths’: Pelosi tears up copy of Trump’s State of the Union address
A spokesperson for Pelosi dismissed Gaetz’s complaint as a "frivolous stunt” since the paper torn by Pelosi was a copy, not an official record.
Meanwhile, Pelosi defended her actions on Thursday during her weekly press conference, calling the president’s speech a “state of mind that had no contact with reality whatsoever.”
The chair of the House Ethics Committee is Florida Democrat Rep. Ted Deutch. The committee is comprised of 10 members, five from each party.