Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez defended her effort to condemn Democratic Illinois Rep. Chuy García for “election subversion” against a group of her visibly angry Democratic colleagues on the House floor Monday night.
Roughly a dozen Democratic lawmakers railed against Democratic Marie Gluesenkamp Perez during debate over her resolution that would force a floor vote formally rebuking García for effectively hand-picking his successor in Congress. The Washington Democrat stood her ground alone, arguing her party must condemn anti-democratic schemes in its own ranks.
“You don’t get your cake and eat it too,” Gluesenkamp Perez said referring to García’s retirement gambit that positioned his chief of staff as the sole Democrat eligible to run in his deep-blue district. “If you’re not going to run, you don’t get to choose your successor no matter how noble the work you have done beforehand.”
Gluesenkamp Perez has excoriated García, 69, for announcing his retirement in early November after the filing deadline had passed, leaving his chief of staff, who had entered the race mere hours before the deadline lapsed, the only candidate eligible for the Democratic primary ballot.
The Washington Democrat has refused to withdraw her resolution over the objections of House Democratic leadership and her progressive colleagues. Democratic leaders introduced a motion to table the measure in a failed vote Monday evening. Maine Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate Democrat, and all present House Republicans voted to advance the resolution.
The measure is expected to get a vote as early as Tuesday.
“Once it was clear there would be no Democratic alternative to his chief [of staff] with a D+17 seat, he announced his retirement,” Gluesenkamp Perez also said on the House floor. “It’s easy to get caught up in the culture of D.C … believing your opponents are so broken that the ends justify the means, but you cannot win the right to represent people through subversion.”
In return, several of her Democratic colleagues engaged in personal attacks against the Washington Democrat and jeered as she spoke.
“Chuy Garcia has stood his ground in moments when others have not, including the sponsor of this resolution of disapproval who has opened the doors to authoritarianism by the way she votes,” Democratic Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez said while referencing Gluesenkamp Perez’s moderate voting record.
Ramirez’s Democratic colleague, retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, accused Gluesenkamp Perez of not understanding Chicago. Democratic Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty complained about the Washington Democrat wearing jeans on the House floor during debate on the measure.
“Wearing jeans is a worse sin than subverting an election. Welcome to the gerontocracy in 2025,” Democratic strategist Lis Smith wrote on X.
Some Democratic lawmakers argued that García should not be punished due to his progressive voting record in Congress.
“I want you to think about the totality of this man’s life. What he’s done in service,” Democratic Vermont Rep. Becca Balint said on the House floor. “This is not a game. It’s a man’s life.”
“This is certainly not a game,” Gluesenkamp Perez retorted. “Nothing validates the choice to subvert an election: not the trespasses of an administration, not the long and noble work of a public servant, not the valid and unknowable bitterness of a family’s suffering, not fidelity to identity politics.”
“The question is: do you have the right to choose your successor?” Gluesenkamp Perez continued.
Other Democrats argued the party should be focused on combating the president’s policy agenda or advocating for their policy priorities rather than force the House to vote on denouncing García.
“I don’t understand why we are having to debate him,” Democratic California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove said on the House floor. “We are in the fight for our lives to make sure that Americans afford the health care that they deserve.”
“This is character assassination,” the California Democrat claimed.
Gluesenkamp Perez pushed back that Democrats must reject anti-democratic practices regardless of which political party the perpetrator represents.
“When it is a spade, you call it a spade whether it hurts or not,” Gluesenkamp Perez argued. “You have to have the confidence that Americans will make the choice for themselves. That is the whole point of this experiment of democracy.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
