House Passes Resolution Denouncing Socialism and Supporting SAVE Act

The House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution on Tuesday denouncing socialism in all its forms with a 220-192-2 vote. Driven by Republicans, the measure served as a political messaging exercise for the November elections, explicitly reaffirming support for the SAVE America Act, a voter-ID bill currently stalled in the Senate.

Steve Scalise, the House Majority Leader, framed the vote as a way to contrast the parties on socialism and non-citizen voting. House Democratic leadership dismissed the resolution as a political stunt, arguing that the condemnation of socialism was a pretext to promote voter suppression legislation. Eight Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the measure.

Prior to the final vote, four moderate Democrats—Representatives Josh Gottheimer, Hillary Scholten, Tom Suozzi, and Jared Moskowitz—drafted an amendment to the resolution. Their version linked socialist ideology to totalitarian regimes and denounced the Democratic Socialists of America for advocating the abolition of the U.S. Senate and the defunding of police and the military. Representative Gottheimer criticized the Republican version as a poison pill designed to trap Democrats.

The resolution narrowly advanced through a preliminary rule vote after Democratic Representatives Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez provided necessary support, partly due to a provision benefiting the lobster fishing industry.