Republicans Think They’ve Found the Dems They Can Divide: Freshmen

Two recent GOP immigration bills have found an unusual level of support among freshman Democrats in the House.

Mike Johnson

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives to deliver an economic address to financial and business leaders at the New York Stock Exchange. Richard Drew/AP

The biggest battles for House Republicans are still a few months away, but there’s plenty of opportunities to divide Democrats in the meantime, and GOP leaders think they may have found the Democrats most willing to split from their party: freshmen.

Two bills in the last week — the Laken Riley Act and the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act — split Democrats over immigration. And at the center of that split were many of the Democratic caucus’ newest members.

While a handful of Democrats changed their votes on the bills from when both pieces of legislation came up last Congress, a large group of moderate freshmen also joined the GOP to support the measures.