WASHINGTON ― Two House Democrats with a history of bucking their party just did a huge favor for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine) on Tuesday voted for a procedural resolution known on Capitol Hill as a “rule,” ensuring its adoption by the House, just as it appeared to be on the verge of failure due to Republican infighting.

Now House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is vowing some sort of punishment for the two Democratic defectors.

“The decision by two of our colleagues to blindside the entire House Democratic Caucus and join with the Republican majority to pass a procedural rule on the brink of failing represents a significant breach of trust,” Jeffries said Tuesday evening in a joint statement with his top deputies, Reps. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.). “It is an action that necessitates a serious response, and we have asked the Committee on Caucus Rules to take this up in short order.”

It’s rare for members of the minority party to support the majority party’s rule votes, and rare for anyone in the majority party to vote no. But in recent months, right-wing Republicans have withheld support for the rules to demand concessions from Johnson. When a rule vote fails, the House essentially stops functioning as usual, and Johnson has even sent lawmakers home as a result.

Golden, who is retiring after this term, said he voted for the rule because it set up a vote on a bipartisan bill he cosponsored to shield Maine’s lobster industry from environmental regulations. He said it would have been ridiculous for party leaders to expect him to essentially vote against his own bill by voting against the rule.

Gluesenkamp Perez is a good colleague, Golden said, and her district has fishermen who would benefit from the bill.

“I had other yes votes, by the way, lined up. They just weren’t necessary,” Golden told HuffPost.

Hours later, the House passed the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act with 209 “yes” votes from Republicans and 10 from Democrats.

The rule Golden saved also set up a vote on a resolution condemning socialism, which many Democrats found annoying. The House adopted the resolution with 211 Republicans and eight Democrats, including Golden and Gluesenkamp Perez, in support.

Golden has previously joined Republicans in voting for government funding bills omitting Democratic priorities and against resolutions to end the Iran war. He and Gluesenkamp Perez voted for an early version of Republicans’ voter fraud bill last year.

After the vote series, Johnson gloated to reporters that they were wrong to predict Republicans would tank another rule.

“The rule has passed,” Johnson said, avoiding details. “Many of you thought that would not happen today, but we passed a rule to continue business this week. Republicans are here to work.”

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