House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries got blindsided by his own team.
Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) defied Jeffries on Tuesday, voting with Republicans on a procedural hurdle known as a "rule vote" — and rescuing the GOP from an embarrassing final week before the November midterms.
It's almost unheard of for the minority party to break ranks and help the majority pass one of their rules, even if lawmakers on that side support the underlying legislation.
'A Significant Breach of Trust'
The rogue move is an embarrassing blow to Jeffries' leadership — and it's not the first time the pair have done it.
Golden's spokesman told Fox News Digital that the congressman's vote was to advance a Russia sanctions bill that would have effectively been killed had the Tuesday evening rule vote failed.
"Congressman Golden has been a consistent supporter of America's allies in Ukraine. He didn't want to see the Russia sanctions bill die in a rule vote after passing with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate."
The two moderates previously broke ranks on a rule vote several weeks earlier — inciting particular fury among fellow Democrats and spurring questions over whether Jeffries will be able to control his caucus if Democrats take back the House in November and he's elected the next speaker.
Jeffries and his top deputies didn't hold back after the first betrayal, calling it out in a blistering statement.
"The decision by two of our colleagues to blindside the entire House Democratic Caucus and join with the Republican majority to pass a procedural rule on the brink of failing represents a significant breach of trust. It is an action that necessitates a serious response, and we have asked the Committee on Caucus Rules to take this up in short order."
It's not clear if any punishment ever ensued.
One's Out the Door, One's Fighting for Her Life
Golden is retiring from Congress at the end of this year — meaning he's got nothing to lose.
Gluesenkamp Perez, meanwhile, is facing her toughest election yet against a Republican challenger in her Washington state district, which voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.
The double defiance couldn't come at a worse time for Jeffries, who is trying to project unity ahead of a critical election that could hand Democrats the House majority — and him the speaker's gavel.
Instead, his own members are showing just how fractured the caucus really is.
