"Garcia recently chose to retire from the House due to distressing family and medical concerns, but he timed his announcement so close to the candidate filing deadline for the 2026 Democratic primary that only one would-be successor, his chief of staff, Patty Garcia (no relation to her boss), was able to file. This political-machine-type maneuver drew the attention of Washington Democratic congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who sponsored a resolution of disapproval aimed at Chuy Garcia."
"On Tuesday, the House formally rebuked Garcia, with 23 Democrats joining their GOP colleagues. What made the vote and the debate surrounding it fractious and emotional was Garcia's history as a progressive icon and a Latino spokesman, along with MGP's (and also Golden's) status as lawmakers on the rightward boundary of acceptable Democratic opinion (both were among the six House Democrats who voted to reopen the federal government last week)."
"The fact that it was a Democrat who brought this up, and that Garcia's conduct was by all accounts legal, enraged more than a few House Democrats. Former House Democratic leadership fixture Steny Hoyer commented, "If we voted every day on if we didn't like something a member did, I think we would be voting every day on only that.""
Chuy Garcia retired from the House citing family and medical concerns but timed his announcement so close to the 2026 primary filing deadline that only his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, could file. Washington Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez sponsored a resolution of disapproval over that maneuver. House Republicans and some dissident Democrats supported procedural moves and ultimately 23 Democrats joined Republicans to formally rebuke Garcia. The episode provoked strong emotions because Garcia is a progressive icon and Latino spokesman, while Perez and Jared Golden sit on the rightward edge of the Democratic caucus. The rebuke highlighted tensions over party norms and intra-party accountability.
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