- “It’s really unfortunate that this happened this week when, obviously, this is a narrative that we’re hearing about from leadership,” Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Illinois) told Axios.
- Rep.-elect Melat Kiros (D-Colorado) said this week “certainly didn’t give me confidence,” and that the election was an “indictment on the way our party has operated up to this point, and that’s a big part of why.”
- “We know the Democratic caucus has blundered on things before, like whipping votes to protect NPR last spring,” said Rep.-elect Don Leonard (D-Ohio). “We missed that one.”
What happened: The House voted 211 to 204 Tuesday to quash an attempt by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with the support of all House Democrats present.
- The result quickly sparked backlash because nearly a dozen House Democrats were absent, many of whom found themselves caught in a traffic jam returning from a Democratic women’s election event.
- That was followed Wednesday by an incident in which House Republicans passed a veterans bill by voice vote despite Democratic opposition.
- The incidents follow a procedural blowout in September in which two centrist House Democrats repeatedly broke with leadership and helped the GOP advance key bills.
What they say: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), when asked about these incidents by Axios, touted another veterans bill that Democrats forced to a successful vote Thursday via a discharge petition.
- “House Democrats have once again succeeded in forcing a vote on a bill intended to improve the lives of the American people,” he said.
- House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) did not respond to Axios’ question and left the House to go to her office.
The plot: Even some current and new House Democrats voting for Jeffries for speaker acknowledged the vote was a black eye.
- “I think everyone is frustrated with the way this whole thing happened, I’m not going to lie to you about that,” said Rep.-elect Dan Koh (D-Mass.).
- “People are upset,” a senior House Democrat told Axios.
The other side: Other Democrats told Axios that absences are an inevitable reality of Congress, noting that several of those who missed votes said they were dealing with emergencies.
- “I think everyone has explained what the situations are: someone is recovering from surgery. There are certain things that are inevitable,” said Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
- Others said the bottom line is that House Democrats need to do a better job of getting to votes on time: “The general consensus among the new members is Jan. 3, it’s time to lock in,” Rep.-elect Matt Little (D-Minn.) told Axios.
Others said the presidential election offers a window into how Jeffries’ approach to the presidency could play out in the coming year.
- Jeffries has always taken a more hands-off approach than his predecessor, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), preferring to let problems and conflicts between members resolve themselves.
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