House Poised To Pass Formal Condemnation of Democratic Congressman Who Timed Retirement To Ensure Aide Would Inherit His Seat

Democratic Congressman Jesus “Chuy” García is likely to be formally reprimanded by his House colleagues on Tuesday afternoon, all thanks to a resolution brought forward by a fellow Democrat. Mr. García, who is retiring, has faced criticism for essentially bequeathing his House seat to a top aide, rather than let a primary process play out. Mr. García has represented Chicago in the House since 2019, and announced just weeks ago that he would not seek another term. He says he is leaving because of concerns about his health. His colleagues, however, strenuously disapprove of how he decided to make that retirement announcement. Mr. García filed to run for re-election just last month, though on the final day of the filing period, his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed to run as well. Ms. Garcia filed her paperwork precisely at five o’clock on the evening of November 3 — the very last minute that candidates were eligible to file paperwork to run in the Democratic primary for the seat. Mr. García announced his decision to not seek re-election three days later, on November 6, after the filing deadline had passed. Ms. Garcia’s decision to file her candidacy paperwork at that exact moment guaranteed that she would be the only Democratic candidate to succeed Mr. García in his deep-blue district. Mr. García won his 2024 race by more than 40 points. A fellow Democrat in the House, Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, filed a resolution last week condemning Mr. García’s behavior. That resolution states that his actions “are beneath the dignity of his office and incompatible with the spirit of the United States Constitution.”On Monday evening, Democratic leadership moved to “table” — or kill — Ms. Perez’s resolution condemning Mr. García. The House voted down that motion by a margin of 211 to 206, with two Democrats voting to proceed with the condemnation of Mr. García. After the House declined to table the motion, Mr. García took to the House floor to defend himself, saying that he was not trying to deceive anyone in announcing his retirement at the moment he did. “I was shocked to be called out,” Mr. García declared. “Voters don’t want these arguments in Congress — the voters want us to help them.”“We should not be distracted by political ploys,” he said. Mr. García is not facing a formal censure resolution, meaning if the resolution does pass on Tuesday — which is nearly guaranteed based on the vote Monday evening — he will face no real repercussions. Typically, when a member is censured, they lose their committee seats and are called to the floor of the House to be admonished by the speaker. Mr. García will not lose any privileges, such as his committee seats, if the resolution does pass. Since the beginning of the 21st century, resolutions of reprimand have been used just three times before. The other instances include reprimands for yelling at President Obama during a 2009 address to Congress, and using government staff to work on a political campaign. Senator Andy Kim, who was elected to the House in 2018 alongside Mr. García, defended Ms. Perez’s resolution of reprimand in a post on X last week. Mr. Kim left the House late last year when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. “Rep. Chuy Garcia’s decision to end his re-election at the last second and plant his chief of staff as the only candidate to succeed him was undemocratic and should not be allowed,” Mr. Kim wrote. “Standing against corruption means standing up no matter which political party violates. The House should condemn and steps need to be taken to restore the people’s right to choose.”The host of the popular Pod Save America podcast, Jon Favreau, similarly criticized Mr. García for trying to guarantee that his top aide would take his place with no significant opposition. “The moment he told his Chief of Staff should’ve been the moment he told everyone else. If she had enough advance notice to gather a few thousand signatures, another candidate could’ve done the same,” Mr. Favreau wrote on X Monday. “It’s bulls— to pretend that’s not true.”A fellow Chicago Democrat, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, defended Mr. García in a statement last week after Ms. Perez introduced her resolution of disapproval. “@RepChuyGarcia has been an unwavering fighter for our democracy and our communities,” Ms. Ramirez wrote, highlighting th fact Ms. Perez voted to fund the government without getting Republican to pass an extension of health insurance subsidies. “It is disappointing that someone willing to compromise working families’ healthcare would use this moment for a cheap political stunt aimed at distracting people from an indefensible vote,” Ms. Ramirez wrote.

House Poised To Pass Formal Condemnation of Democratic Congressman Who Timed Retirement To Ensure Aide Would Inherit His Seat

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