4 House Democrats move to condemn socialism, DSA in resolution

Four House Democrats proposed an amendment Aug. 31 that would formally condemn socialism in all its forms and specifically denounce the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), while removing election-security provisions from a Republican resolution heading to the House floor.

The amendment — offered by Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Hillary Scholten of Michigan, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, and Tom Suozzi of New York — targets H. Res. 1490, introduced Aug. 27 by Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo. 

Crank’s resolution condemns socialism and the DSA while also calling for enactment of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, known as the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot.

The Democratic amendment would strike the Republican resolution’s preamble and replace it with language detailing historical failures attributed to socialist and communist regimes, including the Soviet Union, China under Mao Zedong, and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. 

“Socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has, time and time again, collapsed into communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and repressive dictatorships,” the amendment states.

The amendment also condemns several DSA positions, including the organization’s support for allowing noncitizens and incarcerated people to vote, abolishing the U.S. Senate, defunding the police, eliminating prisons, abolishing capitalism, and sharply reducing U.S. military capabilities. 

It further declares that the DSA’s “ideology and socialism, in any form,” are “incompatible with American values and the United States Constitution.”

It would also replace the Republican resolution’s five-part resolving clause — including its election-security provisions and call to enact the SAVE America Act — with a single provision stating that the House “condemns and denounces socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.”

The Republican-led Rules Committee reported the rule on a 7-4 vote Aug. 31 without making the Democratic amendment in order for consideration on the House floor. The House then adopted the closed rule Sept. 1 on a 210-208 vote, allowing debate on H. Res. 1490 but no floor amendments. 

Crank has said the resolution is intended in part to force congressional Democrats to take a public position on the DSA. 

“I keep hearing people like Hakeem Jeffries and others in Congress saying that they oppose the DSA,” Crank told Fox News Digital in an Aug. 28 interview. “I want to see if they’re willing to vote for a resolution that would oppose them.”

Crank’s office said the resolution comes as DSA-affiliated candidates have competed in more than 100 elections across at least half of the states since the November 2025 election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist. 

The four Democrats, however, accused Republicans of combining a condemnation of socialism with separate election legislation. Moskowitz told The Hill Aug. 31 that the Republican resolution amounted to “political games” and argued that attaching the SAVE America Act diluted its focus.

“If you guys really want to have a vote on socialism, let’s have it,” he told the outlet.

Scholten similarly argued that including the SAVE America Act “dilutes the power of what this socialism resolution is and should be attempting to do.” 

“If the Republican leadership truly wants to have a conversation about socialism, then let’s have the real conversation we need to have about it,” Scholten told The Hill. 

The amendment comes amid broader divisions among Democrats over the party’s democratic socialist faction. Scholten has declined to endorse Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and has criticized his association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker. Meanwhile, Gottheimer has repeatedly argued that the DSA does not represent the Democratic Party.

“The DSA, the socialists are not Democrats. They’re socialists. They should be in their own party,” Gottheimer said on CNN Aug. 27, adding that positions including defunding police and eliminating prisons are “not aligned with our values.”