The House voted Tuesday to admonish Illinois Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García for “undermining the process of a free and fair election,” an accusation launched by a fellow House Democrat.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington Democrat, says Mr. García is “subverting an election.” She accused him of handpicking his chief of staff to run to replace him in 2026, and waiting to announce his plan to retire until after the state’s election filing deadline so there would be no competition.
The 236-183 House vote was carried largely by Republican support, but 22 Democrats joined Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez in condemning their colleague’s move.
The House most often rebukes members’ conduct through censure, but this measure was crafted as a resolution of disapproval. Neither carries any consequences, outside of the public embarrassment of the House vote.
“If you’re not going to run, you don’t get to choose your successor, no matter how noble the work you have done beforehand,” Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez said. “The day after the filing deadline, once it was clear that there would be no Democratic alternative to his chief in a D+17 seat, he announced his retirement.”
Most Democrats sided with Mr. García and slammed Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez for bringing an intraparty fight to the House floor, accusing her of “hubris” and engaging in a “cheap political stunt.”
“Shame on you,” said Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky, Illinois Democrat, noting that Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez has “no idea about the role that Chuy García has played in the city of Chicago and continues to play in the city of Chicago.”
Mr. García, 69, had planned to seek a fifth term but decided against it at the last minute after his cardiologist advised him to take better care of his health, and his wife, who has multiple sclerosis that is showing signs of progressing, asked him not to run.
Another factor that pushed Mr. García toward retirement is that he and his wife just formally adopted their 8-year-old grandson. They’ve cared for him since his mother, whom Mr. García and his wife adopted from foster care when she was a young girl, died in 2023.
“I saw the big picture, supporting my wife as we manage her illness, taking better care of my own health and being present for the grandson that we just adopted two weeks ago,” Mr. García said. “It was a tough decision.”
Mr. García did not dispute that he advised his chief of staff Patty Garcia (no relation) to run. But he said he did not collect signatures on her behalf, as Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez claimed.
“I was shocked to be called out in a resolution on the House floor,” he said. “Voters don’t want these arguments in Congress. The voters want us to be working to help them to afford health care, rent and child care.”
Ms. Garcia is the only Democrat running for Illinois’ 4th congressional district, effectively guaranteeing her a win since the seat is considered safely blue. The Washington Times attempted to reach her campaign for comment, but the email provided on her website bounced back.
“I followed the rules of Illinois and its election law when the ballot was open for anyone to file, as they had over the past six years and the four times that I stood for election,” Mr. García said.
The resolution formally disapproves of Mr. García directing his chief of staff to run in his place and “undermining the process of a free and fair election.”
“Representative García’s actions are beneath the dignity of his office and incompatible with the spirit of the United States Constitution,” the resolution reads.
Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez said she likes Mr. García and believes his reasons for retiring are “noble,” but the debate is not about his character or his work in Congress.
“The question is, do you have the right to choose your successor?” she said.
Democratic leaders moved on Monday night to kill the resolution. Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez secured the support of all Republicans and one fellow Democrat, Maine Rep. Jared Golden, to defeat that motion.
No one from either party joined Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez to argue for the resolution during floor debate Monday night.
She did draw applause from some Republicans when she said: “This is not who we are as a country. People bled and died for the right to elect their own representative.”
Rep. Delia Ramirez, Illinois Democrat, pointed to the applause as proof Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez’s resolution “is nothing more than a cheap political stunt pulled from the playbook of some of my Republican colleagues.”
“You don’t have to agree with how the events of his decision to step down unfolded to recognize that this resolution is misguided and disingenuous,” Ms. Ramirez said. “Disapproving of his actions, while you allow big money in politics, outside spending in elections and rampant corruption to go unchallenged or uninterrupted, is the height of hypocrisy.”
Ms. Gluesenkamp Perez said Democrats can fight the Trump administration and the political system on other issues without excusing Mr. García’s behavior.
“We also have to call a spade a spade, and that’s what this is about, accountability,” she said.
