| January 6 United States Capitol attack |
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| Timeline •Planning |
| Background |
2020 presidential election and other causes |
| Participants |
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| Aftermath |
InAmerican politics, "Sedition Caucus", "Treason Caucus",[1][2] or "Seditious Caucus"[3] is apejorative term for theRepublican members of the117th United States Congress who voted againstthe certification of Joe Biden's victory in the2020 presidential election. The votes, triggered by representatives objecting to the electoral results fromArizona andPennsylvania, occurred hours after rioters supporting incumbent presidentDonald Trumpstormed theCapitol building to disrupt the vote. The term, referring to aCongressional caucus, does not refer to a formal group. Rather, it implies that the members of Congress who voted to object are in favor of or guilty ofsedition, and had a direct or indirect role in the Capitol storming.[citation needed] It originated with the media, and has been used by political opponents of the Republicans, but also by scholars.
While the term was originally used to describe members of Congress who voted against the certification of the electoral vote in the 2020 presidential election, its use has since become somewhat broader (but still related to the aftermath of the 2021 Capitol attack). For example, it was used to describe the senators who voted "not guilty" in thesecond impeachment trial of Donald Trump.
Before the Electoral College certification vote, Donald Trump hadattempted to overturn the results of the election for two months, promoting theStop the Steal conspiracy theory that he had won, and filingdozens of lawsuits at the state level that were ruled against or dismissed. On December 2, 2020,Politico reported that RepresentativeMo Brooks of Alabama was planning to object tothe counting of the electoral votes from several states won by Biden.[4] On December 30, 2020, SenatorJosh Hawley of Missouri became the first senator to announce he would object to the vote certification, meaning the objection would need to be considered by Congress.[5]
Several Republican members of Congress who previously stated that they would object, including SenatorKelly Loeffler of Georgia, who had announced her intention to object at a campaign rally with Trump, chose not to do so following the Capitol riot.[6]
In April, RepresentativeLiz Cheney, a Republican who did not vote to object to Biden's win, said she was considering a presidential run. She also indicated a belief that such objecting should be seen as "disqualifying" other presumptive Republican nominees, "particularly the senators who led the unconstitutional charge".[7]
Even before the Capitol riot, some political commentators began using the term "Sedition Caucus". One of the earliest known uses of the term is from anOrlando Sentinel editorial on December 31, which noted that "about a dozen senators declared they're joining what's disparagingly being called the Sedition Caucus to overturn the election, despite Majority LeaderMitch McConnell's warnings against such a move."[8] Another early use of the term is byCNN hostJake Tapper on January 3, who said "SenatorBen Sasse of Nebraska slammed Hawley and others of the Sedition Caucus saying, 'adults don't point a loaded gun at the legitimate government.'"[9][10] The next day,The Atlantic published a column byTom Nichols where he used the term, referencing Tapper.[11] In a January 5 column entitled "A really bad day for the 'Sedition Caucus'", political columnistJennifer Rubin used the term to refer to the group of senators, calling them "the 'Sedition Caucus' — or the 'Dirty Dozen', if you prefer."[a][12]
Use of the term is highly critical. Conservative columnistMax Boot compared Sedition Caucus members to SenatorJoseph McCarthy and he argued that they should similarly "see their careers crash and burn".[14] Rubin argued that the senators should beexpelled from the Senate or removed from the Republican caucus and SenatorsTed Cruz,Josh Hawley, andJohn Kennedy should bedisbarred, and that members of the House should beprimaried or facethird party opponents.[13] Some members of the Sedition Caucus have faced calls for their resignation.[15]
In February, a Democraticsuper PAC called theSedition Caucus PAC was formed to pursuenegative campaigning against House Republicans in swing districts.[16]
In June 2021, Democratic U.S. RepresentativeGerry Connolly used the term, saying he thought McCarthy "would probably appoint people from the Sedition Caucus" to a proposedJanuary 6 commission.[17]
Scholars have also used the term when analyzing the objections of these Republicans as a norm-breaking political phenomenon. Political scientistSarah Binder noted that the majority of Sedition Caucus members come from veryred districts, while Republicans inswing districts mostly voted against the objection.[18] Binder also noted a divide between Senate Republican leadership, which overwhelmingly voted against the objection, and House Republican leadership, which overwhelmingly voted in favor of it, arguing that House Minority LeaderKevin McCarthy "led the Sedition Caucus" and attracted Republican votes to object.[18]
Political scientistHans Noel said he believed the Sedition Caucus and their "progenitors" come from a common strain of racism, comparing their beliefs toBarack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories,Shelby County v. Holder,poll taxes,literacy tests, andwhite primaries.[19] Michael Latner, a political scientist with theUnion of Concerned Scientists, argued that the Sedition Caucus showed the need for legislation aimed at curbing political power, such as theFor the People Act and a renewal of theVoting Rights Act of 1965, as well as additional political parties and different voting systems.[20]
The public outcry reduced some donors' willingness to fund Republican candidates associated with the Sedition Caucus.
On January 11, several major corporations pulled political funding for candidates who objected to Biden's victory.[21]
By June, however, many of these corporations had resumed donations, according to a report byCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The most generous of these wasToyota, which gave more than double that of the second-highest donor,Cubic Corporation.[22][23][24]
On January 21,The Lincoln Project, aconservative anti-Trumppolitical action committee, announced it would run ads against Sedition Caucus members.[25]
On January 21, the progressive advocacy groupPublic Citizen reported thatBig Tech companies and employees had given nearly $2 million (~$2.55 million in 2024) to Sedition Caucus members since 2016.[26][27] Six days later, Public Citizen reported thatfossil fuel companies and executives had donated $8.8 million to Sedition Caucus members.[28]
In July 2021,Toyota announced it would no longer donate to members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election.[29] Toyota again resumed donations in April 2022.[30]
Following the events at the U.S. Capitol, the editorial board ofThe Capital Times, a newspaper inMadison, Wisconsin, argued that theWisconsin Legislature has its own Sedition Caucus: 15 state legislators who signed a letter to Vice PresidentMike Pence asking him to reject the Electoral College vote certification.[31]
After thesecond impeachment trial of Trump in 2021, which was related to the insurrection, journalistJohn Nichols used the term to describe the 43 Republican senators who voted not to convict Trump.[32]
A total of 147 members of Congress voted in some form to invalidate the electoral college vote count of the 2020 presidential election: 139 in the House of Representatives, and 8 in the Senate.[33]
The eight Republican senators who would be part of the Sedition Caucus by the original definition include:[34]
| Portrait | Name | State | Party | Voted to reject the electoral votes from | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Pennsylvania | |||||
 | Ted Cruz | Texas | Republican |  | | |
 | Josh Hawley | Missouri | Republican | | | |
 | Cindy Hyde-Smith | Mississippi | Republican | | | |
 | John Kennedy | Louisiana | Republican | |  | |
 | Cynthia Lummis | Wyoming | Republican | | | |
 | Roger Marshall | Kansas | Republican | | | |
.jpg) | Rick Scott | Florida | Republican | | | |
 | Tommy Tuberville | Alabama | Republican | | | |
The 139 Republican members of the House of Representatives who would be part of the sedition caucus by the original definition include (alphabetically by each state):[33]
