Reps. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) were poised to sign a discharge petition to force a floor vote before the House minority leader stepped in.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ staff on Wednesday night blocked an effort to sidestep Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on a bipartisan bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for thousands of federal workers, according to four people granted anonymity to describe the sensitive matter.
House leadership has stalled on scheduling a vote for the “Protect America’s Workforce Act” since it was introduced in April. Lawmakers have introduced a discharge petition that would allow the bill to immediately get a floor vote if 218 people sign on.
But Jeffries’ staff stopped the newly confirmed Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) from signing the petition on Wednesday. An aide pulled Grijalva aside moments before she approached the clerk’s desk to add her name, according to a video of the House floor reviewed by POLITICO.
Two of the people, who were granted anonymity to share private details, said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) was poised to sign on if Grijalva did — a move that would have given the petition the numbers needed to advance. But Democrats privately argue that Lawler only wants to attach his name to the effort if he can be the 218th and decisive supporter, allowing him to claim credit as a pro-union Republican.
A spokesperson for Jeffries, Christie Stephenson, said Democrats intend to force a vote on the bill in the coming weeks.
“If Congressman Lawler was as concerned about these working people as he apparently is about his own reelection, he would have signed the discharge petition last night, or any time in the over 160 days since it launched,” Stephenson said. “We also look forward to him signing on as a co-sponsor of the historically bipartisan Protecting the Right to Organize Act given his sincere concern for collective bargaining rights in this country.”
When pressed by a constituent at an Oct. 1 town hall on why he had yet to sign the discharge petition, Lawler responded that he planned on supporting it after the government shutdown ended.
“I will be signing that discharge petition,” he said, according to audio obtained by POLITICO. “I will be signing it when we get back. I was waiting on the 217th person because I’m going to be 218th person to sign it and force it to the floor.”
Spokespeople for Lawler and Grijalva did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jeffries’ move to sideline Lawler is the latest episode in an ongoing political grudge match. He and Lawler got into a shouting match over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies shortly after the government shutdown began. Lawler brought up the exchange in fiery floor remarks Wednesday attacking Democrats shortly before the House voted to reopen the government.
The Trump administration has moved to curb federal employees’ unionization rights, including through a March executive order aimed at exempting certain national security roles from collective bargaining. Major unions for federal workers, including the American Federation of Government Employees, have thrown their support behind the discharge petition.