Congressman: Democrats 'Would Be Thrilled' If Republicans Vote for Jeffries for Speaker
Top job in House up for grabs after McCarthy's historic losses Tuesday
Democrats “would be thrilled” if a handful of Republicans decide to cross over and vote for House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, according to a California congressman.
In the uncertain tumult which emerged Tuesday as the House of Representatives convened for the first time under Republican control since the November midterm elections, Democrat Jeffries actually won more votes for speaker than Republican candidate Kevin McCarthy — although neither man won the required 218 votes to claim the speakership.
That McCarthy lost three successive ballots for speaker Tuesday was stunning, a turn of events unseen on Capitol Hill in literally 100 years.
Although Republicans remain fractured and cannot settle on a speaker, all 212 House Democrats stood behind their new leader — the five-term Jeffries — as their choice for House speaker.
Jeffries, representing southern and eastern Brooklyn since 2013, just succeeded Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader after Pelosi retired from leadership following 20 years.
“Well, we are going forward. There wasn't a single defection in the vote for Hakeem Jeffries, of course, a historic vote, the first African-American to lead a party in the House of Representatives, and we are very optimistic about our leadership,” said Rep Ro Khanna (D-Calif), in an on-camera appearance with CNN. “Here is the sense — if there are five or six Republicans who want to come across to vote Hakeem speaker, we would be thrilled.”
After McCarthy's historic triple losses Tuesday, there is no certain path forward to establish new leadership atop the House, which means that perhaps McCarthy or some other Republican begins looking at Democratic votes for their speakership.
“People have floated this idea of, well, what about a moderate Republican? There'd have to be, in my view, at least two conditions that are met,” Khanna said. “First, they can’t hold this country hostage with a debt ceiling or government shutdown. And second, they can't have subpoena power to do frivolous investigations against the President. Unless they agree to those two terms, I don’t think a single Democrat is going to vote for any Republican."
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