House Democratic leaders want to punish two party members who crossed party lines to advance the Republican agenda on Tuesday.
Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Jared Golden of Maine cast the deciding votes to advance a Republican rule resolution allowing for consideration of a host of conservative bills.
Defections to vote for the opposite party’s rule are extremely rare.
With their defections, the two Democrats bailed out Republican leadership, which did not have enough votes to overcome a GOP revolt against the rule.
“The decision by two of our colleagues to blindside the entire House Democratic Caucus and join with the Republican majority to pass a procedural rule on the brink of failing represents a significant breach of trust,” House Democratic leaders wrote in a Tuesday statement. “It is an action that necessitates a serious response, and we have asked the Committee on Caucus Rules to take this up in short order.”
The statement comes from the caucus’s leading figures: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California.
A group of hard-line Republicans voted against the rule in protest of leadership backing a funding extension bill they thought lacked conservative wins.
Specifically, Texas Rep. Chip Roy complained that the bill delayed a ban on hemp product sales and did not cut off funding to sanctuary cities and abortion providers.
But without prior announcement, Mr. Golden and Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez voted for the rule, helping Republicans maintain control of the House floor.
Their defections forced Democrats to vote on a resolution condemning socialism — Republican legislation designed to force Democrats to alienate voters ahead of the midterms.
After the vote, Mr. Golden told the Substack “Out of State” that he voted with Republicans to advance his bill, the Northeastern Lobstermen Protection Act, which would exempt fishermen and lobster harvesters from conservation regulations.
The Democrat said that siding with his party and preventing the bill from coming to the floor would be “a bitter betrayal” of his constituents.
Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez, who is from a coastal district, said in a statement that she was likewise looking out for fishermen.
“What the DC bubble doesn’t get is that working waterfronts require working people,” she wrote. “You don’t get effective environmentalism without the input of people who make their livelihoods and heritage on the water.”
It’s unclear how the Democratic leaders could respond to the defections.
Mr. Golden is not seeking reelection in November. On the other hand, Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez is running in one of the most closely watched battleground districts.
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