GOP Motions in House Put Pressure on Democrats’ Unity

By Natalie Andrews and Joshua Jamerson (WSJ)

Feb. 28, 2019 4:45 p.m. ET

Republicans use procedural voting tactic to push Democrats facing tough re-election to split with leadership

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) is split with her leadership team over how to handle moderate Democrats who are siding with Republicans on procedural votes to carve out independence from their party.

Mrs. Pelosi is telling members to stand together to oppose last-minute changes introduced by Republicans before votes, while House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) and Whip Jim Clyburn (D., S.C.) have permitted some lawmakers facing tough re-election races to split with the party line, several aides said.

“Put me in a different category,” Mrs. Pelosi said Thursday. “Let’s make life easy: Just vote against them.”

The defections on some Republican-led measures are highlighting Democrats’ challenges in adjusting to their large, diverse House majority, which started with later-than-expected leadership elections and a partial government shutdown.

Republicans are using a procedural tactic known as a “motion to recommit” to force Democrats to vote on a range of controversial issues by amending bills that Democrats are set to pass. It is the most powerful tool the minority party can use in the House, and while it doesn’t inherently derail a bill’s chances of becoming law, it could create problems for Democrats and their agenda. The tactic is familiar some Democrats: They used it last year to introduce motions targeting Republican incumbents who they then beat in the midterm elections.

Democrats in districts President Trump won in 2016, or those who won narrowly in Republican-held districts, are increasingly voting for the GOP motions. On Wednesday, ahead of a landmark vote on the expansion of background checks for nearly all gun sales, 26 Democratic lawmakers supported a GOP motion that added a requirement to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement when an illegal immigrant tries to buy a gun, causing the measure to pass.

Mr. Hoyer is considering a rules change suggested by some members that would allow the majority to see the proposal before it is brought to the floor. Currently, Republicans introduce the legislation and then call for a vote—giving Democrats just a few moments’ notice about what they are voting for.

Many of the Democrats who have voted for Republican measures are worried about attacks back home, a Democratic lawmaker said.

House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D., Ky.) said Democrats won’t be able to ward off all attacks by defecting on these votes. “Hopefully they’ll realize at some point that there are going to be ads run against them no matter what they do and these motions to recommit…don’t make much difference,” he said.

Mrs. Pelosi advises members to hold firm in defying the GOP motions so her caucus can say it consistently opposes them. In Thursday morning’s closed-door whip meeting, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) spoke up about the difficult position she faced after the 26 Democrats voted with Republicans on Wednesday’s gun-control measure, Mr. Yarmuth said.

“She talked about how that put her in a real bind because she’s got a huge immigrant population and she’s a very strong gun-safety advocate,” he said. Some Democrats worried that backing the bill with the ICE provision could be seen as a vote to crack down on illegal immigration.

“It was a tough vote for her. As long as members feel free to treat it on an ad hoc basis, that will continue to put other members in a difficult spot,” Mr. Yarmuth said.

A spokesman for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Mrs. Pelosi is also worried about what vulnerable Democrats, many of whom got plum committee positions, will do when faced with tough votes there, a senior Democratic aide said.

“I don’t think we need to draw a line in the sand that if a Republican motion passes, that’s a black eye for the Democrats,” said Rep. Ben McAdams (D., Utah) who voted for the GOP’s gun proposal this week. The proposal didn’t lead to any more Republicans than expected voting for the expansion of background checks for nearly all gun sales.

The Republican motions derailed a war-powers resolution earlier in February directing the removal of U.S. armed forces involved in the conflict in Yemen. In part looking to embarrass Democrats over anti-Semitic remarks from freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), the GOP added language to their motion condemning anti-Semitism. The House voted unanimously to include the language.

Republicans say they are using the power of the minority, and that the Democratic support of their resolutions legitimizes their motions.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) called the consideration of changing the process a “vital threat to the integrity of this institution,” adding that both parties use the motions politically.

The move complicated the war-powers resolution’s path in the Senate, where the parliamentarian ruled the measure had lost its privileged status because of the GOP-added language—meaning it wouldn’t automatically receive a vote.

“It’s a big challenge for us,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.), who sponsored the House’s version of the Yemen bill. He said Democrats need to develop a “cohesive strategy as a caucus…We can’t allow this to continue.”

—Kristina Peterson contributed to this article.

Write to Natalie Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com

Appeared in the March 1, 2019, print edition as 'Pelosi Struggles Over Party Unity.'