<p class="wp-block-paragraph">House Minority Whip <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/katherine-clark/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Katherine Clark</a> (D-MA) stated that "team players" should receive top committee positions after Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) crossed party lines for the second time this month during a party-line vote.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Clark remarked, "The American people know we’re focused on them and that means we need team players who are all in on driving down the costs for Americans and it’s team players, people who are helping our caucus be successful on behalf of the American people, who should be sitting on exclusive committees," when asked if the two defections should be allowed to serve on exclusive committees.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat from a battleground district, holds a position on the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal spending, providing her with an opportunity to advocate for funding for her state and district.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Clark, the No. 2 House Democrat and a close associate of Minority Leader <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/hakeem-jeffries/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hakeem Jeffries</a> (D-NY), indicated that she was informed by Gluesenkamp Perez prior to the vote that she would align with Republicans on Tuesday, a decision she did not make during a previous vote where she also broke from her Democratic colleagues.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gluesenkamp Perez was accompanied by Rep. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/jared-golden/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jared Golden</a> (D-ME) in both instances, which facilitated the advancement of Republican-led bills to the House floor. The two centrist Democrats voted on Tuesday to bring a package of bills to the floor, including the <a href="https://washingtonexaminer.com/tag/russia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Russia</a> sanctions bill that had bipartisan support in the Senate in August.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Earlier this month, the two Democrats sided with Republicans to initiate a vote condemning <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/socialism/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">socialism</a> and the Democratic Socialists of America. Their actions drew criticism from fellow Democrats, including Jeffries. The Democratic caucus is currently considering whether to impose any consequences for these defections.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jeffries stated on Wednesday that he would not comment on whether he supported Clark’s proposal regarding committee assignments, indicating he would provide more information when appropriate.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Hailey Bullis contributed to this report.</em></p>