After fierce fight, WA lawmaker secures US House rebuke of fellow Democrat

Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington succeeded Tuesday in getting the House to publicly reprimand a Democratic colleague.

But she needed support of nearly every House Republican as the vast majority of her own party, including six fellow Washington Democrats, opposed her resolution targeting Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Illinois, for an electioneering toe-tap to anoint a successor.

Gluesenkamp Perez applauded Garcia’s career in public service and said he was retiring for honorable reasons. “But election subversion is wrong no matter who’s doing it,” she added.

The House approved Gluesenkamp Perez’s measure on a 236-183 vote, with 23 Democrats joining 213 Republicans to pass it. Republican U.S. Reps. Michael Baumgartner of Spokane and Dan Newhouse of Sunnyside voted in favor. U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier of Sammamish was the lone Washington Democrat to side with her in-state colleague.

The five-paragraph resolution “disapproves of the behavior” of Garcia in the run-up to the filing deadline for 2026 Democratic candidates in the deep blue, Chicago-area district.

Garcia submitted a petition to run for another term. Days before the deadline, the four-term congressman abetted his chief of staff in gathering required signatures to become a candidate. When the filing deadline passed, and it was clear they were the only two Democratic candidates, Garcia announced he would retire at the end of his term.

Baumgartner, on Monday afternoon, criticized Garcia’s “secret switcheroo” that left his top aide as effectively the only Democratic choice for voters. “”Obviously not a great look for Democracy in the best of light,” he told reporters.

Gluesenkamp Perez laid out the timeline of Garcia’s actions Monday night in a spirited sparring session with fellow Democrats on the House floor. It was an unusual scene as the centrist stood alone at a podium enduring withering verbal attacks from her own caucus after most Republicans exited the chamber.

At one point, Garcia defended his actions and decision to retire to spend time with his family.

“When a colleague chooses his family, that shouldn’t be a moment for division; it should be a moment for understanding and unity,” he said.

In her statement Tuesday, Gluesenkamp Perez said, “It shouldn’t have caused as much friction as it did to speak honestly and consistently about election subversion,” adding that “Congress is a legislative body, not a social club.”