Democrat rebels defy Jeffries to hand GOP critical win just before midterms

A pair of moderate House Democrats defied House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Tuesday, rescuing Republicans from an embarrassing final week before the November midterms.

Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., voted with Republicans on a procedural hurdle known as a “rule vote,” aimed at allowing the House to consider a slew of other bills this week.

It’s an embarrassing blow to Jeffries’ leadership; it is almost unheard of for the minority party to break ranks and help the majority pass one of their rules, even if lawmakers on that side support the underlying legislation.

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Golden’s spokesman told Fox News Digital that the congressman’s vote was to advance a Russia sanctions bill that would have effectively been killed had the Tuesday evening rule vote failed.

“Congressman Golden has been a consistent supporter of America’s allies in Ukraine. He didn’t want to see the Russia sanctions bill die in a rule vote after passing with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate,” the spokesman said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Gluesenkamp Perez’s office as well.

The congresswoman posted on X, “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. 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.”

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It’s not the first time the two voted against their own party on a rule, having done so several weeks earlier. The pair have been known to break ranks with fellow Democrats before, but their decision to do so on procedural votes incited particular fury among fellow Democrats.

It also spurred questions over whether Jeffries will be able to control his caucus if Democrats take back the House in November, and he is elected to be the next speaker.

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Jeffries and his top deputies said in a statement the last time the pair broke ranks on a 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. 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.”

It’s not clear if any punishment ensued, however.

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Golden is notably retiring from Congress at the end of this year. Gluesenkamp Perez is facing her toughest election yet against a Republican challenger in her Washington state district, which voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.