Democrats slammed as ‘hospice’ party as member deaths impact crucial House vote
Facing yet another loss after the Trump-backed “Big, Beautiful Bill” advanced in Congress, liberals are lashing out at Democratic Party elders for clinging on to power too long — even to death.
Shortly before the so-called BBB went up for a vote, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., a longtime leader in the Democratic Party from deep-blue Fairfax County, passed away after a battle with esophageal cancer. Connolly had previously indicated he would be retiring at the end of his term in 2026.
In response, many liberal analysts and consultants complained that too many Democrats were refusing to leave office, including FIGHT Agency’s Rebecca Katz, who posted on X, “Imagine if one of the older and sicker Dems would’ve retired instead of died in office and what that would’ve meant for millions of people,” quoting a post of the final 215-214 tally.
Below that was a repost of a story with a large image of Connolly that described recent elderly Democrats who have died in office.
President Joe Biden, left, Rep. Gerald Connolly, right (Getty)
When reached for comment, Katz told Fox News Digital that “no individual has a divine right to rule for eternity.”
“Democratic voters feel lied to and are demanding accountability, and our party needs to earn back their trust and start winning again. We shouldn’t be afraid to have hard conversations,” Katz said.
The story — in the left-wing New Republic — described how Connolly was the latest in a recent string of Democrats who have died in office, including Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Sylvester Turner, D-Texas. According to her X profile, Katz has experience in Arizona politics working with Sen. Ruben Gallego’s campaign, as well as previously Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.
Meanwhile, the last eight lawmakers to have died in federal office have all been Democrats — including Turner’s own predecessor Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, for whom he took over for less than a term.
The New Republic appeared to lay the blame for the BBB’s narrow win at the feet of dead Democrats.
“House Republicans managed to pass their draconian budget bill, which promises to make massive cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and food assistance, early Thursday morning by a narrow one-vote margin that was only possible due the deaths of three in this current Congress,” the New Republic’s Hafiz Rashid wrote, describing Connolly, Grijalva and Turner.
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Quoting another article from The Nation, Katz wrote:
“In a democracy, politicians exist to serve the public; the public does not exist to serve politicians. It’s a sign of democratic decline if politicians live and die like warlords, clinging to every last ounce of power. Democrats need to define what they stand for as a party so their elected officials can once more be genuine public servants and not mere warlords.”
The Nation lamented how Democrats are supposed to be a political movement seeking to gain power and implement an agenda.
But, “in practice… [they] more closely resemble a hospice, if not a funeral home,” it went on, pivoting to criticizing the party for its bolstering of former President Joe Biden amid revelations from CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s book on the alleged “cover-up [of] his infirmity.”
The three Democrats who died within close proximity to BBB negotiations all hailed from reliably Democratic districts in Fairfax, Tucson and Houston, and could have had their seats filled by Democrats if they had retired in a timely fashion.
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Senior House Republican leadership staff emphasized that Connolly’s absence would not have had any bearing on the outcome of the votes.
Johnson had 217 votes on-hand, Fox News learned Tuesday.
Prior to Connolly, Turner and Grijalva, Democrats from similarly-secure Paterson, New Jersey; Houston oncemore; Newark, New Jersey; California (Sen. Dianne Feinstein); and Petersburg, Virginia, died in office and left their party in the statistical lurch.
Currently, the four oldest sitting federal lawmakers are Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, at 91, Reps. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Hal Rogers, R-Ky., at 87, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., at 87. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is 85.
Fox News Digital reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Connolly’s office for comment.
