The House voted Tuesday afternoon to formally rebuke Illinois Democratic Rep. Chuy Garcia for effectively choosing his successor in a pension scheme that critics called a coronation.
A group of 23 Democrats, including the resolution's Washington sponsor, Rep. Marie Glusenkamp Perez, joined nearly all voting Republicans in condemning Garcia for “undermining the process of free and fair elections” when he announced his resignation. House Democratic leadership failed to prevent a mass exodus of Democrats who refused to support a symbolic resolution calling for anti-democratic behavior in their caucus. (RELATED: Democrats attack colleague for having the nerve to call out fellow Democrat for 'election subversion')
“Congressman Chuy Garcia has been a progressive advocate and voice for the voiceless in his community for decades,” House Democratic leadership said in a statement. joint statement Tuesday in an attempt to prevent defections at its own meeting. “We unequivocally oppose this misguided resolution.”
However, most lawmakers appeared convinced by Glusenkamp Perez's arguments that Garcia's retirement gambit constituted “election subversion.”
Garcia, 69, announced his decision not to seek re-election after the filing deadline passed, leaving his chief of staff, who entered the race hours before the deadline, to automatically become the Democratic nominee.
Garci1 denies that his successor was carefully selected, but he said to the Chicago Sun Times that he helped his chief of staff gather the necessary signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. Garcia announced his retirement only days after the filing deadline.
“You won't have your cake and eat it too,” Glusenkamp Perez told the House on Monday. “If you are not going to run, you will not be able to choose your successor, no matter how noble a job you have done beforehand.”
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 25: Rep. Marie Glusenkamp Perez (D-WA) arrives to participate in a series of votes at the U.S. Capitol on September 25, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
A group of progressive House Democrats confronted Glusenkamp Perez on the House floor Monday night for moving forward with her resolution despite the clear objections of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“Chuy Garcia stood his ground in moments when others did not, including the sponsor of this resolution of disapproval, which opened the door to authoritarianism with the way he voted,” said Democratic Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez, taking aim at Glusenkamp Perez's moderate voting record.
Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also criticized the resolution in a brief interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“I think this is a very unusual and unique situation, and I think every state should have laws to ensure that someone can't opt out at the last minute without fairness,” Jayapal said. “But I don't understand why someone from my home state of Washington would be disapproving. Like, why not work to change the law in Illinois?”
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the main GOP super PAC involved in House races, criticized Glusenkamp Perez for not showing the same energy to condemn the party's apparent coronation of former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats, however, had the right to challenge Harris for the presidential nomination, as opposed to Garcia's eleventh-hour retirement.
“Maria Glusenkamp Perez was complicit in the anointing of Kamala Harris and the disenfranchisement of millions of Washington state voters,” CLF spokeswoman Lydia Hall said in a statement. “Why does she suddenly care about Illinois voters being disenfranchised, but she doesn’t care when it happens in her home state and across the country?”
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