Some House Democrats are pushing a caucus rule change that would make paying campaign dues a condition for any lawmaker seeking posts as committee and subcommittee leaders, The Washington Sun has learned.
After the lawmakers return to the Capitol after the midterms, some Democrats plan to bring up a proposal in their organizational meetings for next Congress that would ensure committee leaders are contributing dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the political and fundraising apparatus that assists caucus-wide members in their reelection bids.
Democrats are expected to contribute to the party’s fundraising arm, and leaders establish a scale of dues each election cycle, ranging from a low six-figure range for rank-and-file members to $1.1 million for those serving in leadership and on top-tier committees, like Ways and Means or Appropriations.
Currently, paying dues to the DCCC is encouraged but not required. But of the 21 House Democrats who currently serve as committee ranking members, seven have paid half or less what they owe, according to an August dues report obtained by The Sun.
Trending
The change is among a number of demands Democratic members are angling for if they take back the majority, including requiring term limits for committee leadership roles.
“There is a recognition that we want our leaders to be in good standing, and that includes doing everything possible to ensure a House Democratic majority,” Rep. Mike Levin of California, chair of the House Democratic Committee on Caucus Rules, told The Sun. The committee works with members to write proposals that can then be brought to the entire caucus for a vote.
Levin said the proposal, which has not been finished, would lay out what qualifies a chair as “member in good standing.”
The standard of “in good standing,” Levin said, would include the member paying DCCC dues, attending House votes and voting with the rest of the caucus on procedural votes. The latter requirement is in direct response to Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state voting with Republicans to advance two procedural votes earlier this month. That move prompted Democrats to demand that leadership formally reprimand them.
“It’s crazy that these chairs do nothing to get the majority and sit back and expect that because they have always been, they will always be,” one House Democrat, granted anonymity to speak frankly, told The Sun.
Lawmakers have privately denounced Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia and Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrats on the Education and Workforce and Financial Services committees, respectively, as two people who, they argue, regularly don’t pay their dues.
The latest report shows Scott paid 100% of his DCCC dues as of August, a significant increase from the 9% he had paid back in April, according to a dues report from that month. In the spring, Virginia Democrats were campaigning for a redistricting referendum, which ultimately failed, that would have helped Democrats gain more seats in the House. In a statement to The Sun, Scott indicated that was why his April numbers were lagging.
“My number-one focus right now is helping to elect at least 218 Democrats to win back the majority. I campaigned for the Virginia Redistricting Referendum earlier this year, and now I am working to flip at least 3 seats in the Commonwealth. I have paid my dues in full, as I have always done, and I have contributed to Frontline Members and all the Red to Blue candidates,” Scott said in the statement.
On the other hand, Waters has only paid 15% of her dues for this election cycle. Her office did not respond to The Sun’s request for comment.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, asked if he backs barring members from seeking leadership positions if they haven’t paid their dues, said, “Well, it’s all hands on deck right now. And we continue to encourage every single member of the House Democratic Caucus to be as supportive as they can.”
Democrats, Jeffries added at a Wednesday news conference, have continued to “narrowly” outraise Republicans this cycle “and we need to continue to keep that pace going forward.” He insisted that Democrats will have the resources they need to win in November.
When reached for comment on this story, DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said, “appreciate you asking, but gonna have to politely decline to comment because we are busy working on winning the 2026 election.”
In the last few months, there’s been a rush of members playing catchup by making large contributions after previously being delinquent.
Members have taken notice. One source familiar with the matter said they witnessed a round of congratulatory text messages acknowledging Reps. Rick Larsen of Washington, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi had paid in full. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, who could see a challenge as the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has, as of August, paid 100% of the $660,000 he was required to pay.
Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, had paid 38% of his DCCC dues in April. By August, he had paid 83%. Similarly, Bonamici had paid 64% in April, but contributed more, meeting 82% of her dues level in August.
There are questions around how exactly a proposal to change caucus rules for fundraising would work, and if it can have any real teeth.
For instance, there are rules that require members to strictly separate their official legislative duties from their campaign and political work. Some House Democrats are concerned about linking a political responsibility such as paying campaign dues to performing a legislative role — being a committee leader.
“My prediction is that moving [forward], members are going to look back and see who has paid their dues in full and who hasn’t met their expectations,” said a second House Democrat who was skeptical the caucus would pass a rule targeting leaders. Anyone who has not met “their minimum in the past,” they added, has “got to be scrutinized more thoroughly.”
“That’s the strongest form of enforcement possible,” the lawmaker continued.
Three sources familiar with the process told The Sun the measure would be implemented if it gets a majority of the caucus behind it.
It’s also unclear how the measure would work when members in competitive districts, who the DCCC calls “frontliners” and who do not have to pay dues to the committee, run for committee leadership positions. For example, Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, running in a competitive district, is planning to challenge Virginia’s Scott to lead the Education and Workforce committee.
“I can’t help that I live in a district that’s a frontline district, and that presupposes that anyone who is a frontliner, we’re just there to help deliver the majority and be cheerleaders,” Hayes told The Sun. “Democrats talk about candidate quality and the people that we recruit and how we are broadening our perspectives and bringing in different voices, that also will have to mean bringing those voices to the leadership table.”
Hayes said that she would support a dues-paying requirement: “There has to be some buy-in as part of the team, but also getting this work done isn’t just about your capacity to raise money.”
The push to require high-ranking committee members to pay doesn’t come without pushback. Newer members — especially those who have sworn off corporate PAC money — have complained about struggling to pay dues. Members in less affluent districts could also face barriers that would cause them to fall short of their dues obligations.
But the proposal could get enough votes to be adopted by the House Democratic Caucus in November, judging by how often members said the issue has come up in listening sessions the caucus’ rules committee has held.
“The vocal support has definitely outweighed any vocal opposition,” California’s Levin said.
Authors
