Democrats fume as two members break ranks again on key vote for Trump agenda

WASHINGTON, DC: Two House Democrats who split from their party last week defied their party leaders for a second time in recent days, voting Tuesday, sept 15, to move a White House priority forward and fueling new frustration inside the Democratic caucus as the chamber prepares to begin its final week of legislative business before the November elections.

Reps Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington both bucked their party on a procedural vote on a rule, the kind of measure that the minority party typically unites against, that would determine whether the majority can bring up bills for a vote. 

Democrats are especially frustrated this time

The frustration is evident enough that it was witnessed publicly.

Rep Katherine Clark, the No 2 House Democrat and party whip, was seen raising her voice in a heated exchange with Gluesenkamp Perez on the House floor shortly after the vote, a person familiar with the confrontation told CNN.

Golden, who is retiring after this term, has not drawn near the same level of blowback from his peers.

What has rankled Democrats is that the rule vote paved the way for a Russia sanctions bill that President Trump himself has championed, and that some Democrats actually support.

An administration official privately reached out to a House Democratic centrist, attempting to convince the member to support the GOP procedural vote in exchange for a community project back home, according to a Democratic source who spoke with CNN. That Democrat voted against the rule.

Democrats generally argued that they were not objecting to the substance of the sanctions bill, but rather straining against the party establishment by voting against the procedural vote to get it to the floor.

Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents a battleground district and is seeking reelection, defended her vote publicly 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,” Gluesenkamp Perez said on X, adding, “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.”

A growing debate over party discipline

The recent jumpers have reignited a Democratic Party intraparty debate over what to do about members who defect on contested procedural votes.

The Democratic Caucus has had discussions about potential punishments even before the jumpers' initial rebellion, and these talks are reportedly gaining momentum as the midterms draw near.

Another top Democrat, Rep Pete Aguilar, later called out the two defectors and said their caucus would discuss potential punishments for the members.

Asked about enforcing party discipline, he said, “We’ll have some conversations as a family, and we’ll go from there.”

And he issued a terse warning to fellow Democrats about the behavior: “That’s not what we should be doing.”