The House on Tuesday voted to disapprove of how Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., announced his retirement, adopting a resolution stating his conduct was “beneath the dignity of his office” and undermined “the process of a free and fair election.”
Led by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez, D-Wash., it was an unusual push by a Democrat to ding a member of her own party. She was one of 23 Democrats to join Republicans in backing the resolution.
García waited until after the filing deadline in Illinois to publicly announce he would not seek reelection, leading many to assume he was boxing out other candidates and setting up a glide path for his chosen successor. His chief of staff, Patty Garcia, was the only Democrat to submit paperwork to run for the 4th District seat.
