Democrats issued a joint statement from progressive and moderate factions that appears aimed at declaring an end to intraparty infighting over the direction of the party.
“House Democrats are a diverse, robust and passionate family,” Democrats said in a statement issued Thursday.
“We love our country and are dedicated to making life better for everyday Americans. At times, there may be different perspectives on the way forward. That is a hallmark of the legislative process,” the statement said.
The statement was sent from leaders of the Progressive Caucus and the moderate Blue Dog and New Democrat coalitions.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, was also a signer.
The statement comes after a bitter feud erupted within the Caucus between ultra-progressives and moderates involving funding for the illegal immigrant surge at the border and other policy items.
The fight spread to social media, where progressives attacked moderates for supporting the Senate’s bipartisan border funding bill, which lacked some of the safeguards for child migrants included in a progressive House version.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, took to Twitter to equate the Problem Solver’s Caucus, made up of Republicans and moderate Democrats, to “the child abuse caucus.”
In another tweet, now deleted, Saikat Chakrabarti, the chief of staff to progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, compared the Blue Dogs to New Southern Democrats “hell bent on to do black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s.”
Jeffries this week stood by a tweet from the Caucus’ Twitter handle attacking Chakrabarti after he attacked moderate freshman Democrat Sharice Davids of Kansas.
The joint statement said the groups will focus on a “unity of purpose” that will respect all the different factions.
“We have a shared mission. Onward and upward,” it said.
