Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) shocked and dismayed colleagues Wednesday with a rogue effort to condemn retiring Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.) for effectively ensuring his chief of staff would succeed him in Congress.
Why it matters: It was a rare moment of public infighting that resulted in a heated exchange between Gluesenkamp Perez and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.).
- Gluesenkamp Perez's move came just ahead of a vote to reopen the government that Democrats are largely unified in opposing.
- "Everybody has been trying to say to her, 'Why today?' We have really focused, important work to do today,'" one House Democrat who was on the floor at the time told Axios.
- Clark, the lawmaker explained, "was trying to ... say [to Gluesenkamp Perez], 'You don't need to do this right now.'"
Driving the news: During debate on the stopgap spending bill to reopen the government, Gluesenkamp Perez motioned to force a vote on a resolution disapproving of García's actions.
- García, who had been expected to run for reelection, unexpectedly announced just before Illinois' filing deadline last week that he would instead retire.
- García's chief of staff Patty Garcia was the only other person who had gathered enough signatures to run, leaving her as the only candidate in the Democratic primary in a heavily Democratic district.
What they're saying: García's "stated reasons for retirement are honorable, but his decision to anoint an heir is fundamentally undemocratic," Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement provided to Axios.
- She added: "This is the kind of thing that makes folks tune out of electoral politics ... If we fail to hold our colleagues accountable for this subversion of elections, we own the consequences."
- Her resolution, which now needs to be voted on by next Tuesday unless she withdraws it, calls García's actions "beneath the dignity of his office and incompatible with the spirit of the Constitution."
The other side: García "made a deeply personal decision based on his health, his wife's worsening condition and his responsibility to the grandchildren he is raising after the death of his daughter," his spokesperson Fabiola Rodriguez-Ciampoli said in a statement.
- "He followed every rule and every filing requirement laid out by the State of Illinois. At a moment like this, he hopes his colleagues, especially those who speak about family values, can show the same compassion and respect that any family would want during a health crisis."
- Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), who was on the floor at the time, told Axios: "It should obviously be the jurisdiction of the election officials in Chicago and Illinois."
- "It didn't make sense," she said of Gluesenkamp Perez's move. "It's very disappointing. It's very unusual."
Between the lines: Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents one of the most Republican-leaning districts of any House Democrat, is a centrist who is known to break with her party frequently.
- She voted with six other House Democrats to reopen the government on Wednesday, putting her at odds with party leadership.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Rep. Chuy García's spokesperson Fabiola Rodriguez-Ciampoli.
