Two Democrats, in highly unusual move, cross the aisle to save GOP bills

Two Democrats took the unusual step of voting with Republicans to advance a batch of GOP-backed bills, preventing a handful of conservatives from tanking the vote and effectively saving Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) agenda for the week.

The rule was adopted 210-208, with five Republicans voting in opposition and two Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) — voting in favor.

The rule includes a GOP-backed bill to denounce socialism, a key midterm message for Republicans.

Golden and Perez’s votes were highly unconventional. Traditionally, the majority party votes in favor of rules, which tee up debate and final votes on bills, while the minority party votes against them, regardless of how lawmakers plan to vote on the underlying legislation.

In the razor-thin GOP majority this Congress, conservatives have frequently used rule votes to flex their muscles and push for their positions, but a member of the minority party crossing the aisle in this way is near-unheard of.

The votes blindsided Democratic leaders, who said they hadn’t gotten any advance notice from Perez or Golden.

“That came as a surprise,” Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said shortly after the vote.

Clark said she has not spoken to the lawmakers since they cast their votes, but she was clearly frustrated with the pair for violating the precedent around rule votes.

“It’s one of the rules of being on a team, is that we vote against the rule. So I’m sure we’ll have further discussions,” Clark said.

The conservatives who voted against the rule did so to protest a measure not included in it, the Senate-crafted continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through Dec. 11, which contains provisions a number of House conservatives opposed. But the CR passed Tuesday under suspension of the rules, depriving them of the opportunity to block it.

That group included: Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Pete Sessions (R-Texas).

Roy, who had vowed Monday to vote against the rule, said the detractors weren’t trying to win others over.

“People asked us what we thought. We told them. Andy and I both felt strongly about the fact that they were amending the CR. You didn’t get the CR in the rule, but you know, people got to vote however they want to,” he said. “So we weren’t like having a big push to try to you know quote kill the rule. I just I wasn’t going to support it.”

Higgins also bashed the Senate for adding provisions to the CR.

“Well, I mean, we’re leaning in on on the non-performance of the Senate. That’s what’s really happening,” he said. “These guys across campus, they act like the royal court over there.”