Same 2 Democrats Come To Rescue Republicans’ Agenda

Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington defied their own party again Tuesday by voting to advance House Republicans’ agenda.

The two Democrats voted with Republicans to open debate on the late Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Russian sanctions bill and on measures to roll back Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. They previously voted with House leadership to debate several bills after five Republicans voted to shut down the floor to protest the continuing resolution (CR) that passed the House on Sept. 1.

Perez and Golden expressed their support for the Russia sanctions bill, which passed the Senate in August.

“I’m proud to represent one of the largest Ukrainian communities in America-people who have lost fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in the fight to defeat fascism,” Perez said. “I’ll always stand with my community’s values, and am grateful for the 86 senators who voted to send this bill to the house. My vote today gets us one step closer to enacting these sanctions into law and I look forward to voting tomorrow to cut off the flow of Russian oil money fueling this war.”

Perez’s and Golden’s offices did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Republican Reps. Andy Harris of Maryland and Ralph Norman of South Carolina voted against debating the bills. Republican Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Andrew Clyde of Georgia and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania voted “yes” after extended talks with House leaders.

Perez and Golden angered Democratic leadership when they first rescued House Republicans earlier in the month. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar warned their votes warranted a “serious response.”

“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,” the leaders said in a Sept. 1 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.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was “disappointed” in their vote.

“Voting for the rule is something that I, as Speaker, never — We didn’t even consider that anybody would do that. We never had that problem, so I’m disappointed that they did that.”

Golden said he voted for the rule to advance the passage of the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, which would extend a pause on strict federal fishing rules for lobster crews.

Clark told CNN Wednesday that “team players” in the Democratic caucus get to sit on “exclusive committees.”

“In my opinion, we need team players. And team players get to sit on exclusive committees.”

Democratic leadership historically cracked the whip on members who defied their caucus. Pelosi  denied former Democratic New York Rep. Kathleen Rice a seat on the House Judiciary Committee after she voted against Pelosi for speaker, while she awarded members who endorsed her leadership after previously opposing her in a November 2018 letter.

Alternatively, Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made several concessions in January 2023 to become speaker after House Freedom Caucus members caused delays in electing a speaker, which weakened House leadership’s power. While in talks with Freedom Caucus members, McCarthy lowered the threshold required to oust a speaker to one member.

McCarthy’s concessions gave former Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz the power to file a motion to vacate the chair to oust McCarthy in October 2023.

Nine rules votes have failed under House Speaker Mike Johnson’s watch, while none failed under Pelosi. Thirteen Republicans voted against a rule on June 30 that would have opened debate on attaching the Safeguard America Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) because they did not agree with Johnson’s attachment method.