Four House Democrats on Monday pushed back against a Republican resolution condemning socialism, offering their own amendment that also denounces the ideology but strips out a controversial voting provision they argue is a political ploy.
The GOP measure, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.) and scheduled for a floor vote this week, condemns socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), citing positions such as abolishing prisons and granting noncitizens voting rights. It also calls for passage of the SAVE America Act, a long-stalled bill requiring proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to cast a ballot.
The Democratic amendment, authored by Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), and two others, also criticizes socialism and DSA ideology, calling it “incompatible with American values and the United States Constitution.” It points to failures of socialist governments abroad and controversial DSA stances, including abolishing capitalism and the Armed Forces. But it omits any reference to the SAVE Act.
The House Rules Committee advanced the GOP resolution without allowing a vote on the amendment. Democrats said their goal was to expose what they see as Republican insincerity.
“It’s really trying to show the Republicans are not serious about wanting to do that, right?” Moskowitz told The Hill. “This is just political games.”
Scholten echoed that sentiment, arguing that mixing the SAVE Act into an anti-socialism resolution dilutes the message. “To put the SAVE Act in there, it actually dilutes the power of what this socialism resolution is and should be attempting to do,” she said. “Our amendment just simply attempts to expose this fraudulent, insincere attempt by Republicans and say, ‘Hey, if you guys really want to have a vote on socialism, let’s have it, right?’ And separate out these two issues.”
Scholten added that she is open to a genuine debate on socialism but not with “this watered down insincere version that includes the Save Act, which is deeply unpopular with the American people.”
Republicans have made anti-socialism a central theme of their midterm messaging, casting progressive primary winners as extreme and trying to tie the broader Democratic Party to its left wing. Meanwhile, some Democrats have privately worried that DSA-backed candidates could hurt their chances in battleground districts, a concern that has fueled internal tensions as the party navigates its own electoral strategy.
The clash comes as the House also returns to address a potential shutdown and other business, with the socialism vote adding another layer of partisan friction. Democrats argue the GOP is using the resolution to score political points rather than address substantive policy, a charge Republicans dismiss as deflection.
