In the weeks after Texas state Rep. Kyle Biedermann stood near the steps of the US Capitol where rioters soon brawled with police, he returned to the Lone Star State to introduce a bill paving the way for Texas to secede.
“We have our own grid, we have our own gold depository, we have so many things that other states don’t have,” Biedermann said in a January Newsmax interview about his bill, which has garnered little enthusiasm in the legislature. “Texas can lead, and these states can join with us and make our grievances heard in a stronger way.”
In the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, West Virginia state lawmaker Derrick Evans faced swift backlash and promptly resigned after being charged for his alleged participation. But his case was, in many ways, an anomaly. In Washington, more lawmakers have sought to downplay the violence on January 6 and gloss over efforts to overturn the election. Only 35 House Republicans on Wednesday voted to create a commission to investigate what happened that day.