GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, March 25, where we hope you’re enjoying recess as much as Ursula’s cat! N.J. DELEGATION SLOWLY FLIPPING TO KIM Tammy Murphy’s Senate bid had the support of the majority of New Jersey’s congressional delegation – before she dropped out of the race over the weekend. A day later, the state’s House members are starting to flip to their colleague Andy Kim, who is now likely the Democratic nominee. POLITICO reached out to every Democratic member of the New Jersey delegation and mostly heard crickets about switching their endorsement. We’ll cut them some slack, since members are out of Washington for recess until April 5, but we can only imagine the awkwardness that the abrupt end of the governor’s wife’s campaign might be causing. There were two notable early flips: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said he is now backing Kim, in a statement shared first with POLITICO. “With so much at stake in our country — from reproductive freedom to affordability to protecting our democracy — now is the time to come together as a united party,” Gottheimer said. “That’s why I’m proud to endorse Andy Kim and will do whatever I can to make sure Democrats up and down the state win in November.” And Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the first delegation member to switch, posted on X: “I look forward to working with @AndyKimNJ to protect our Senate Democratic majority and keep New Jersey blue.” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman — the only delegation member to stay neutral in the race — is still not endorsing a candidate, even after Murphy’s departure, her team told POLITICO. But the majority of the delegation hasn’t come out for Kim … just yet. There’s still plenty of time for that to change before the June 4 primary. — Nicholas Wu, Mia McCarthy and Daniella Diaz BUCK AND GALLAGHER GET FLAMED As Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.) and Mike Gallagher (Wis.) make early exits from the House GOP’s chaotic majority, some of their colleagues – conservatives who are often thorns in the side of party leaders – are all but labeling the duo as traitors. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called for Gallagher to be expelled from Congress shortly after the Wisconsin Republican announced he’d resign his seat on April 19. Her reasoning: Forcing Gallagher out would allow the party to circumvent rules in his state based on his time of departure that are set to effectively leave his seat vacant until November. “What Mike Gallagher did yesterday was intentional, purposeful, and puts our entire majority at risk,” Greene told conservative pundit and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. “The horrible, dishonest and completely irresponsible actions of many in our Republican majority have led us to where we are,” she added. “Every member that leaves early puts us at risk of losing the majority.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) sounded a similar note about Gallagher’s exit on Fox Business. “There are members that I believe have intentionally designed this to cripple a [Speaker Mike] Johnson-controlled majority,” she said. Another conservative Republican, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), also blasted Gallagher’s early exit, which will leave Republicans with just a one-vote majority in the House following a host of departures – including former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whom Buck voted to fire last year. “I'm very disappointed that people are not finishing the job that they signed up to do,” Norman said on CNN. “I like Mike Gallagher, but unless it's for health reasons, you do your job for the term that you were elected to do, which is two years.” Other conservatives also indicated disappointment at the departures. “I don’t know why they’re leaving,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said in an interview on Newsmax, also naming McCarthy (whom he voted to oust). ”All three of them knew we had a really thin majority anyways.” — Anthony Adragna
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