Overview
- The two members, Reps. Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, crossed party lines on a procedural rule vote on Tuesday to allow a package of GOP bills to reach the floor.
- That rule vote preserved the chance for the House to take up a Senate‑passed Russia sanctions bill that the White House supports and that had wide bipartisan backing in the Senate.
- This is the second time this month the pair sided with Republicans on rule votes, after they earlier forced debate on a resolution condemning socialism, prompting leadership anger and a caucus rules review.
- House leaders publicly condemned the defections as a breach of trust and referred the matter to the Committee on Caucus Rules, with No. 2 Democrat Katherine Clark warning that committee slots should go to “team players.”
- Practical limits on punishment make discipline difficult because Golden is retiring and Gluesenkamp Perez represents a competitive, Trump‑leaning district, and the episode highlights how procedural votes can let individual members shape the agenda.