Politico reports the U.S. House approved a GOP-led resolution condemning the “horrors of socialism” on Friday morning, just hours before President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with New York’s incoming democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
The measure passed 285-98 after a debate that mixed election-year politics with deep divisions inside the Democratic caucus.
Eighty-six Democrats joined Republicans to support the resolution, while two others voted “present.”
No Republican voted against it.
Among the Democrats voting yes were Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Rep. Marilyn Strickland, both from Washington state.
KIRO 7 News has reached out to their offices for comment, including whether they have any thoughts on Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson, who, like Mamdani, identifies as a democratic socialist.
President Trump spoke about Wilson earlier this week, saying she is “more than socialist.” He went on to describe her as “very, very liberal-slash-communist.”
House GOP leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have repeatedly criticized Mamdani, who will soon lead the nation’s largest city.
Republicans argue that Mamdani’s politics represent an increasingly “radical” direction for national Democrats and say they plan to make him a central figure in their messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats in Congress have rejected those attacks, calling the resolution misleading and overly broad.
Party leaders said the measure “selectively lists certain despotic leaders and the harms of totalitarian regimes self-labeled as ‘socialist,’” but they did not formally urge their members to vote against it.
Some moderates—particularly those from New York—have expressed discomfort with Mamdani’s prominence inside the party.
The debate paused for roughly 10 minutes after Rep. Maria Salazar, a Florida Republican, accused Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, of being a “friend” of Fidel Castro.
Salazar referenced Waters’ previous travel to Cuba and said she had firsthand knowledge of the regime’s abuses.
Waters objected and asked the House to strike Salazar’s words from the record.
Instead, Salazar withdrew the remarks, allowing the chamber to continue debate before voting on the resolution.
The vote came just before President Trump is expected to meet with Mamdani for the first time, setting up an unusual moment in which the White House engages with a rising figure whose election has underscored the political tensions surrounding the word “socialism.”
Washington lawmakers who supported the measure have not yet responded to questions from KIRO 7 News about their votes or how they view the election of Seattle’s mayor-elect, Katie Wilson.
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