Chris Hayes Accuses High-Ranking Democrat of ‘Egregious Political Malpractice’ Over Possible Primary of Fellow Democrat

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes accused Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of “egregious political malpractice” after the latter announced he might primary a fellow Democrat in a solid blue district amid New York’s redistricting battle.

Maloney is the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He is tasked with helping elect his Democratic colleagues in the House.

After it was announced his district might shift and become more competitive, he said he would not rule out mounting a primary against freshmen Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY).

Jones represents New York’s 17th congressional district, which is reliably blue. Maloney represents the state’s 18th. If the current map draft is finalized, Maloney could realistically end up in a competitive general election against a Republican.

Maloney said he wants to run where he lives, but his tweet has created infighting among Democrats.

Politico broke down the dynamics of Maloney’s announcement, as well as opposition to it:

Maloney’s decision to abandon a newly redrawn version of his current swing district — and instead run for a seat that includes most of Rep. Mondaire Jones’ turf — is raising private concerns from across the party that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chief has put himself in an inappropriate scenario: leading the party’s midterm strategy while potentially battling a fellow member.

Maloney has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but he lost Hayes, who on his nightly show Thursday criticized the potential move as “egregious.”

“We have seen action from one member of Congress that I have to say is among the most egregious political malpractice I think I’ve ever seen in my life,” the All In host said.

Hayes ripped Maloney for for announcing he might challenge Jones “within half an hour of this new map being released.”

He further noted the 17th district “already has a sitting Democratic member of Congress,” and reminded his audience that as head of the DCCC, it is Maloney’s job to “keep the Democratic majority by winning difficult races.”

Hayes noted that if Jones agrees to run in another district, and chaos ensues, eventually two Democrats will be pitted against each other in the same district.

“Rather than putting his money where his mouth is and running in the slightly harder district, Sean Patrick Maloney is abandoning it,” he said. “Maybe Sean Patrick Maloney will be embarrassed by the fact he looks like he doesn’t have the courage of his own convictions. He could decide to remain in the 18th district, and hold the seat for the Democrats.”

Hayes said he invited Maloney to discuss the issue on his show, but was told the congressman was traveling.

A finalized map is expected to be released Friday.

Watch above, via MSNBC.

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