Golden explains defection on GOP rule: 'I'm going with the fishermen'

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) said he broke with Democrats to support a Republican House rule governing several GOP messaging bills, explaining he was “going with the fishermen.” Golden and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) backed four bills, including a resolution condemning socialism. One measure Golden advanced would give lobstermen economic protections tied to North Atlantic right whale safeguards; it passed late Tuesday. Golden argued the whale regulations left lobstermen “terrified” and “unworkable,” warning protections could devastate Maine’s fishing communities. He said voting against his own effort would have felt like betrayal. The defections helped preserve Speaker Mike Johnson’s September agenda amid possible midterm pressure.