House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was blindsided on Tuesday when two members of his caucus voted with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to put a resolution denouncing socialism on the floor for a full vote.In a 210-208 vote, Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Jared Golden (D-ME) voted with 207 House Republicans and independent Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA) to bring several pieces of legislation to the floor, including a resolution condemning and denouncing socialism. The defection of Gluesenkamp Perez and Golden, two centrist Democrats, was sufficient to prevent a tie, which is the same as a vote failing under House rules.Jeffries told reporters that he wasn’t informed of the decision ahead of time.
“I didn’t get a heads up. You’ll have to talk to Katherine,” Jeffries said, referring to House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA).He told reporters later Tuesday that it was “a significant breach of trust” and did not rule out consequences, saying that repercussions for Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez were “under discussion.”In an X post, socialist influencer Emma Vigeland called out Jeffries for being “left in the dark” about the vote.“Pitiful. [Nancy] Pelosi was no leftist, but she could whip her caucus. She would never have been left in the dark like this,” Vigeland wrote. “Jeffries is bad at the basics of his job, and passing the buck onto Katherine Clark is poor leadership. NFL quarterbacks talk like this before they’re benched.”
