The House voted 236-186 for the measure, with 10 members not voting and four voting present. More than two dozen House Democrats voted for the resolution, along with all Republicans.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., defied her party by introducing the resolution on the House floor to rebuke Garcia, who represents parts of western Chicago and its suburbs. She said the vote disapproving of Garcia's conduct was necessary because it's important to call out “election subversion” by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Garcia announced he was not seeking reelection earlier this month, just after the deadline to file paperwork for the seat. By then, his chief of staff was the only candidate who had submitted the needed paperwork.
“My responsibility as an elected representative of my community is to say loudly and consistently, humbly and with love that no one has the right to subvert the right of the people to choose their elected representatives,” Perez said during a Monday evening floor speech.
Blowback from Democratic lawmakers was swift.
A Tuesday statement before the vote from House Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, defended Garcia as a “progressive champion” and a “good man.”
“We unequivocally oppose this misguided resolution and urge our colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus to reject it,” the statement said.
Perez thanked the House members who voted for the resolution. She commended Garcia for a career of public service and called his familial reasons for retiring from the House “honorable.” But she was also frank about the tension surrounding the vote.
“It shouldn’t have caused as much friction as it did to speak honestly and consistently about election subversion,” Perez said in a statement. “Congress is a legislative body, not a social club, and the American people will not accept blind calls to party loyalty in defense of an effort to deny them the right to a free and fair election."
