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House Democrats are debating how far to go in punishing lawmakers who break with the caucus after Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., and Jared Golden, D-Maine, helped Republicans on a key procedural vote this week.
Their defections struck a nerve in the party, with lawmakers floating options for punishing them or clarifying what it meant to be a member in good standing with the caucus.
“If you want to be a free agent, you can be a free agent, but understand that you know you may not get to use the team locker room,” said Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill.
Democrats began discussing rules changes yesterday through an under-the-radar subpanel led by Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., who told reporters they planned to “come up with some ideas that are reflective of the will of my colleagues.”
That panel will propose rules changes to the rest of the Democratic caucus.
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Some Democrats are wary of going too far in punishing lawmakers who defect on key votes — especially those in redder districts, who sometimes need to demonstrate independence from national Democrats.
“We still have to do our very best to maintain the cohesion of the family. Anytime you start punishing members of the family, you can force them out, which we don’t want to do,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.
He also warned that the procedural defections this week foreshadowed turbulence next year with a crop of incoming progressive lawmakers who could similarly clash with party leadership.
“We don’t know how they will be part of the team,” Beyer said.
On top of the potential changes to caucus rules around procedural votes, Democrats also are discussing other changes like implementing ranked-choice voting for caucus leadership positions, clamping down on sexual harassment, imposing committee leadership term limits, and enforcing attendance and paying party dues.