WASHINGTON — Twenty-three congressional Democrats — including two fellow members from Illinois — joined with Republicans on Tuesday in favor of a resolution admonishing U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García for using old-school tactics to clear the way for his own House successor.
U.S. Reps. Bill Foster of Naperville and Eric Sorensen of Moline were the only Illinois Democrats to join Republicans in voting 236-183 for the resolution that chastises García for his move two weeks ago in which he suddenly dropped out of his reelection race and cleared the way for his then-chief of staff, Patty García, to succeed him. The resolution was introduced by a Democrat from the state of Washington who argued the move deprived voters in Illinois’ heavily Democratic 4th Congressional District of a meaningful choice in the Democratic primary for his House seat next year.
While the resolution will have no practical impact on the congressman’s remaining time in office or on Patty García’s efforts to take the seat, its passage is the latest slap at the outgoing congressman for his insider political maneuvering and could cast a cloud over Patty García, who is no relation to the congressman, should she win the office next year.
Chuy García originally filed for reelection but later changed his mind. Instead of making a public announcement right away, the congressman helped Patty García, who has since resigned as chief of staff, collect the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot, which were submitted at the last minute.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, an iconoclastic Democrat from Washington state, led the effort to reprimand the prominent Chicago lawmaker. During a debate Monday night, she insisted the vote was not about García’s long record of public service, but about how he decided to leave public life.
“The consequences of subverting an election and choosing your successor are a slide toward a very ugly future for our country,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “We know about it. That conveys on us a responsibility, not just when it’s politically convenient to condemn someone, but when it’s in your own family. … Whether it hurts you or not, you have to have confidence that Americans will make the choice for themselves.”
García defended his last-minute decision, saying he had a change of heart after considering his own health, his wife’s multiple sclerosis and their recent decision to adopt one of their grandchildren after the death of his daughter.
“I wasn’t expecting to stand here to debate my retirement,” he told his colleagues, “but before any of us are members of Congress, we are husbands, we are grandfathers, we’re sons, we’re mothers, we’re sisters. We’re regular people. But life reminds us that our jobs come second to the people waiting for us at home.”
Most members of the Democratic caucus, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, rallied around García. Many Democrats objected to having to deal with an intraparty dispute as soon as they returned from a nearly two-month House recess to end a government shutdown.
U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a California Democrat, called the motion “character assassination.”
She said House Democrats shouldn’t be fighting each other at a time when the Trump administration cut food stamps during a government shutdown, was ordering military strikes on boats in international waters without congressional approval and was presiding over the rolling back of health care subsidies. House Democrats were also pushing for legislation requiring the Justice Department release documents related to its investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, she noted, a measure that eventually passed the House overwhelmingly.
“Those are issues that are far more pressing and critical to Americans,” she said. “I was home in my district this weekend. Not one person asked me about Chuy García. Not one person.”
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat who represents parts of the North Side of Chicago and many north suburbs, chafed at the idea that a lawmaker from outside the area was coming after García, who had a long career in Chicago politics.
“For someone who doesn’t know about the city of Chicago and the role that (García) has played, to find some outside idea that he has somehow cheated the city of Chicago, or the people of the city of Chicago: Are you kidding?” Schakowsky said. “There has not been one single person that has stood up in Chicago and said that there should be some sort of punishment for our great friend.”
Patty García declined to comment Tuesday on the resolution through a spokeswoman. But she defended the ballot maneuver in an interview with the Tribune last week at a restaurant in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood.
Given the timing of the congressman’s decision, there was little time to consider making a public announcement to would-be primary opponents, his former chief of staff said.
“I’ll be honest, I mean, on that Friday, there’s so many trains having to run,” she said.
Before declaring her own candidacy, she had to resign from her federal position and “make sure that my congressional team is in good hands,” she said. At the same time, she was working with district staff and allies to help constituents whose families had been affected by federal immigration enforcement actions, she said.
“The immediate reaction was: ‘Are we going to be OK not having you help the team, right?’ … I’ve been kind of (the) lead on these rapid response (efforts) with our team members,” García said.
On top of that, the political organization also had to quickly put together plans to gather the necessary signatures to secure her spot on the ballot, she said, an effort that used 75 volunteers to collect about 2,500 signatures in just a couple of days.
A spot on the 4th Congressional District primary ballot required only 697 valid voter signatures for the March primary election, but candidates typically collect several times that amount to ensure they can withstand any legal challenges to their petitions. The period for filing objections closed Nov. 10, without anyone challenging her petitions.
Like her former boss, García said their political organization thought other candidates already were circulating petitions to challenge the congressman, given that he faced a primary challenge two years ago, although she acknowledged she wasn’t aware of any specific candidates.
And while she will be uncontested in the primary, García noted she’ll still face at least one Republican opponent in November, along with possible independent candidates.
Progressive Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, has said he is considering a bid, and Mayra Macías, formerly of the group Latino Victory Project, is said to be exploring a run. The related Latino Victory Fund has endorsed Gluesenkamp Perez in her reelection campaign.
“There’s still a misconception of like, ‘Well, the race is done. You’re it,’” García said. “And the reality is, it isn’t. I have an endorsement from the congressman, and it’s that, it’s an endorsement, and I still have to run a campaign.”
Prior to joining the congressman’s staff in 2019, Patty García worked for groups including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. She earned a doctorate in educational policy studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2011.
Petrella reported from Chicago.
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