"Joe Manchin always told me": A centrist Democrat explains why he sided with Republicans on the CR

Yahoo

14-03-2025

In a call with a No Labels, a self-proclaimed centrist organization, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, described his decision to vote for a Republican continuing resolution that stands to empower billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump as him taking the 'high road.'
Golden, speaking Thursday just before Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced his support for the same CR, was the sole Democrat in the House to back the GOP plan, which pairs spending cuts with funding to keep the government open for another six months. Many Democrats expressed concern that, while the passage of the CR would avoid a government shutdown, it would also further empower Trump and Musk to make unilateral cuts to congressionally authorized programs.
Indeed, Politico reported this week that Vice President JD Vance promised House Republicans wary of approving more spending that the administration would pursue impoundment, which legal experts decry as an unconstitutional attempt to seize Congress' power of the purse.
During the No Labels event, however, Golden suggested that it was he who was standing up to the administration. 'I think people on the left are not really thinking this through, and they should be careful what they ask for,' he said in reference to people actively opposing the Republican bill.
'Anyways, Joe Manchin always told me, 'Don't — if you can't go home and explain something to people, then you probably ought not to vote for it.' And I can't explain what good would come out of a shutdown,' Golden said.
Golden continued: 'I also want to point out that right now, anyway, where [Trump] is exceeding his authority as president, the courts are doing a pretty good job so far.'
Asked about Vance's promise, Golden suggested in an email to Salon after the No Labels call that it didn't affect his decision.
"Statements by the vice president, or anyone else for that matter, didn't factor into my vote for the CR at all," Golden said. "I voted to keep government open because I know that right now a shutdown will make things worse, not better. A shutdown will mean more people going home without pay, more federal agencies having their doors closed."
The "real fight," Golden said, is coming up: "I voted to keep federal spending at more or less current levels through the end of the fiscal year and to keep the government's lights on so we can move on to the real fight, which is stopping the House GOP from using reconciliation to cut taxes for the wealthy while potentially taking health care away from hundreds of thousands of my constituents."
But plenty of Democrats disagree with that assessment.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., described her issues with the CR at a House Rules Committee hearing earlier this week, calling the bill a 'blank check' that allows Trump to 'keep impounding." The bill, she charged, is 'filled with cuts and policy changes while abandoning Congress' responsibility to decide how and why to spend taxpayer dollars.'
Impoundment refers to when the president decides not to spend money appropriated by Congress. The power is both statutorily illegal under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and constitutionally illegal as the Supreme Court ruled in Train v. City of New York.
Golden's remarks come as most House Democrats are urging their Senate counterparts to stand firm and oppose the Republican CR. No Labels, the group that hosted the Maine lawmaker, presents itself as a counterweight to progressives, but a review of its finances shows that it has often backed Republicans. In 2024, the group donated more than $1.6 million to Republicans, compared to $236,000 to Democrats. Golden himself received $2,000 from the group. Other Democrats the group supported by No Labels include Reps. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.
While No Labels has historically sought to keep its donor roles a secret, an investigation by Mother Jones published in 2023 found that many of the group's wealthy benefactors are business moguls.Some of the donors include Michael Smith, the billionaire founder of Freeport LNG, who has donated millions of dollars to support Republican efforts to control the Senate, and Tom McInerney, a private-equity investor with connections to the Republican National Committee and GOP affiliated super-PACS.