Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton gets threatening voicemail over infrastructure vote

WASHINGTON - Rep. Fred Upton, R- Mich., shared a threatening voicemail he received following his vote to pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill last Friday.

The Republican congressman played one of the many voicemails he’s received since the vote during an interview Monday with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on “AC360.”

“I hope your f------ family dies. I hope everybody in your f------ staff dies, you f------ piece of f------ s---. Traitor!” the anonymous caller said in a voicemail.

Related:House GOP members who voted for infrastructure bill face backlash from Republican colleagues

Upton, who represents southwest Michigan, was one of 13 House Republicans who crossed party lines to approve the infrastructure package, which is an essential part of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda. Upton was also among the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.

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“We have seen civility really downslide here,” Upton told Cooper.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes plans to fix America’s roads and bridges, expanding broadband internet and increasing electric charging stations. Meanwhile, the bill’s counterpart, the Build Back Better Act, aims to improve social safety net programs and increase climate change initiatives.

More:Who are the 6 House Democrats who voted against the infrastructure bill?

Republicans voting for infrastructure face criticism

Beyond Upton, a dozen other Republicans voted for the infrastructure bill: Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, David B. McKinley of West Virginia, Tom Reed of New York, Chris Smith of New Jersey, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Don Young of Alaska, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and John Katko of New York.

Upton said he and his colleagues have received numerous messages from angry citizens after GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted their phone numbers late Friday night.

Greene tweeted the 13 Republicans “handed over their voting cards to Nancy Pelosi to pass Joe Biden’s Communist takeover of America” through the infrastructure bill.

Kinzinger, who voted for the infrastructure bill, replied to Greene’s tweet saying, “Infrastructure = communism is a new one. Eisenhower’s interstate system should be torn up or else the commies will be able to conveniently drive! Red Dawn in real life.”