The House voted to rebuke Rep. Chuy García of Illinois for announcing his retirement after the filing deadline — a maneuver that has positioned his chief of staff to be elected his successor in a reliably blue district in the 2026 midterms.
The 286-183 vote on the symbolic resolution of disapproval divided Democrats, with 23 members of the minority party ultimately voting with all Republicans to reprimand one of their own.
Four lawmakers voted “present:” Democratic Reps. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, alongside Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio.
Democrats have been hand-wringing over the matter since last week, when Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez introduced the nonbinding resolution against García through a fast-track process that allowed her to bypass leadership — and catch her colleagues off guard.
Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington is a purple-district moderate who frequently bucks the rest of her party, but her antagonism of García was seen as going a bridge too far by many Democrats who have been trying to project unity coming out of the longest-ever government shutdown.
Democratic leaders whipped against the resolution and urged members to vote against it in their closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday morning. Gluesenkamp Perez attended the meeting but didn’t speak up when leaders spoke against her effort, according to four people granted anonymity to describe the sensitive situation.
“We disagree with the resolution that’s being offered and we should be talking about issues that affect the American people,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the third-ranking House Democrat.
Some Democrats defended García, who has denied accusations of wrongdoing and said his decision to retire earlier this month was based on his personal health and the needs of his family.
But many others said they had a hard time explaining away the fact that García’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed her papers with Illinois election officials days before her boss announced his decision to retire — timing that appeared designed to clear the primary field.
Democrats who voted for the disapproval resolution, though, underscored it wasn’t personal. Gluesenkamp Perez also said Monday night she had nothing against García, but “you cannot win the right to represent people through subversion.”
Democratic leaders unsuccessfully tried Monday evening to kill the measure altogether, but Gluesenkamp Perez and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) sided with all Republicans against doing so, forcing a final vote on the matter Tuesday afternoon.
