Congress
Why House Democrats stayed the course with their leaders
Despite coming up short in their fight for the majority, House Democrats aren’t tossing their leaders aside.
The caucus opted to keep their top slate of leaders in Tuesday’s party elections, with every single top Democratic leader reelected without opposition.
It’s a mark of confidence, even as the party girds for another Congress in the minority. Even with public and private venting over the future of their party, alongside debate over the Democratic message, most in the party were satisfied with their performance in congressional elections.
Though the House majority fell just out of reach for Democrats, members aren’t blaming party leaders for their Election Day performance. Purple-district incumbents generally outran the top of the ticket, and the majority of them are coming back to Washington. The party flipped several seats around the country, too, ensuring a similar margin in the new Congress — if not a slightly narrower one, depending on the outcome of some uncalled races. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team will now face partisan battles with President-elect Donald Trump while searching for bipartisan deals and protecting their vulnerable incumbents.
“We are prepared to work hard to find bipartisan common ground with our Republican colleagues and the incoming administration on any issue, whenever and wherever possible, but at the same period of time, we will push back against far-right extremism, whenever necessary,” Jeffries told reporters.
In interviews with House Democrats from various geographic and ideological sides of the caucus, lawmakers expressed confidence in their leadership and wanted to give them another term in their slots. As the top House Democrats embark on a series of listening sessions with rank-and-file lawmakers, backbenchers believe their leaders will be responsive to their requests.
“Those tough seats — we outperformed the top of the ticket dramatically,” said Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.). “The reason that I’m supporting the current leadership is because they’ve made a commitment that they want and understand the need to take a broader look at how those of us who outran the ticket, from two to almost nine points, did it, and a willingness to listen to us, to make positive change in the party.”
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who is running unopposed to lead the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the loss of the majority isn’t leadership’s fault.
“I think our leaders worked really hard. We ran our strategy, and I think that we’re all recognizing where there were parts of a strategy that didn’t work,” he told Blue Light News. “So I don’t judge our leaders based on them being perfect. I think we judge our leaders on whether or not we’re willing to learn from what worked, learn from what didn’t work and change.”
One swing-district Democrat also didn’t blame leadership.
“Their leadership had nothing to do with [losing the House.] I support Hakeem, Pete, Katherine. I support them,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas).
Besides, as other senior lawmakers saw it, their leaders hadn’t been able to get a shot at governing in the majority.
“They haven’t led yet,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a former whip.
Democratic leaders drew applause and cheers Tuesday morning, with lawmakers from a broad cross-section of the caucus giving their nominating speeches. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) nominated Jeffries, Reps. Don Davis (D-N.C.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) nominated Clark, and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) gave the nomination speech for Aguilar, while Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) made the motion to nominate him.
There was only one competitive election for an incumbent leadership position: the chair of their policy and communications arm. Current chair Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) defeated a challenge from Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) by a 152-59 vote. Crockett, a first-term lawmaker, had raised some eyebrows in the caucus with her last-minute bid against Dingell.
One outstanding question for Democratic leaders: the future of the DCCC chair, which became an appointed position after a rules change in the last leadership elections. Some lawmakers have privately griped about the performance of their campaign arm, though a push to change course has not materialized. Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) is expected to stay if Jeffries asks her to, and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) has publicly swatted down rumors she’s interested in the job.
“I told her I think she should stay this morning, but that’s up to Hakeem and Suzan,” said Craig when asked about keeping DelBene as chair of the campaign arm.
Congress
Massie files to run in 2028 after losing House primary
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie filed on Monday to run for his Kentucky House seat in 2028, less than a week after losing a primary fight against a challenger backed by President Donald Trump.
Massie became the latest victim of Trump’s revenge tour last week when former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein successfully ousted him in a primary that shattered electoral spending records.
Trump repeatedly railed against Massie, who has broken with the president on several high-profile issues in recent months, including the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran. Massie also helped lead the congressional effort to force Trump to release the federal government’s files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Advertising spending in his primary fight — the most expensive on record — surpassed $32 million as pro-Israel interest groups poured millions into the effort to unseat Massie, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel during his time in Congress.
Massie said in a Monday afternoon statement that the move would allow him “to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,” adding that he had not yet decided which office to seek.
Trump also succeeded in pushing out other Republicans who challenged his leadership in Louisiana and Georgia last week, with GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Brad Raffensperger both losing to Trump-endorsed opponents.
The president also forced out several Indiana state lawmakers who opposed his nationwide redistricting efforts earlier this month, once more proving his iron grip on the party.
But Republicans in Congress and GOP operatives are fretting that Trump’s laserlike focus on vengeance could imperil the party’s legislative agenda ahead of this fall’s midterm elections and potentially cost the GOP control of Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s seat. Trump handed down an eleventh-hour endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last week, more than two months after promising to weigh in on the ugly primary fight.
Congress
Khanna expresses disappointment about Massie’s defeat
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) expressed disappointment Sunday morning that Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost his primary last week.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Khanna said of his reaction: “Sadness, disappointment. Thomas is a real friend. He’s a good man.”
Khanna and Massie are very much on opposite ends of the classic left-right ideological spectrum, but they came together to introduce the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the release of files in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They also joined together to attempt, unsuccessfully, to block U.S. involvement in Iran.
Those efforts, as well as other votes, led President Donald Trump to repeatedly denounce Massie and campaign on behalf of Ed Gallrein, Massie’s challenger in their Kentucky congressional district. Gallrein won the primary last week with approximately 55 percent of the vote.
Speaking to host Kristen Welker, Khanna offered his analysis of Massie’s defeat.
“He was taken out for two reasons,” Khanna said. “One: He had the courage to go after some very powerful people in working with me to get the Epstein Transparency Act passed. As you mentioned, that’s historic bipartisan legislation that finally got justice for the survivors. And he had people spend millions of dollars and had the president of the United States after him.
“And second, he worked with me to stop this war in Iran. So for taking on the Epstein class and taking on war, he basically lost his state. And I admire his courage in taking those positions.”
With talk this weekend of a possible deal with Iran, Khanna said it is time for the war to come to an end.
“The answer to your question is yes. I do believe we need a negotiated deal,” he told Welker.
Congress
Absent congressmember Tom Kean Jr. starts working the phone
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., whose two-and-a-half month disappearance has stoked speculation about his health and political future, has begun more actively communicating over the phone.
On Thursday, Kean began calling Republican county chairs in his 7th Congressional District, one of the most competitive in the country in this year’s midterms. The two-term Republican also gave a “lengthy” interview to New Jersey Globe on Thursday afternoon, the first he has granted since he last voted on March 5.
Kean did not respond to a text message from Blue Light News and his voicemail was full Thursday night.
But Kean, 57, gave no details to the Globe on his undisclosed illness, which has kept him out of public view since early March. He said he’s expecting to make a full recovery, that it would not affect his cognitive health, that he plans to run for reelection and that he will publicly discuss his health at an unspecified later date.
“My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery,” Kean told New Jersey Globe. “I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents.”
Kean added that he plans to return to voting and campaigning in the next couple weeks. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm, told reporters Thursday he spoke to Kean and he will be back voting in June.
Kean’s lengthy absence has drawn national media attention, with reporters staking out his home in the wealthy 7th Congressional District, where he faces an extremely competitive reelection, with four Democrats competing in the June 2 primary to take him on in November. His campaign and office staff had repeatedly said that he expects to make a full recovery and would return to work “soon.”
But few people — even Kean’s two fellow New Jersey House Republicans — had recently reported speaking to him. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he spoke to Kean last month.
Kean called Republican chairs in his district on Thursday.
“He sounded good to me. Sounded just as normal as always,” said Carlos Santos, the Republican chair of Union County, where Kean lives.
Santos said that he did not ask Kean about his ailment, and that Kean did not disclose it. But he said Kean confirmed he’s running for reelection and that he has his support.
Tracy DiFrancesco, the GOP chair of Somerset County, also spoke with Kean.
“It was just a simple conversation. He sounded just like Tom always sounds. He sounded perfectly fine. He’s basically back. Hopefully we’re going to see him very soon,” she said. “I think he’s doing well and we’re excited to get back on his campaign.”
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