A Deal with Democrats May Be Necessary to Elect a House Speaker, Says Top House Republican
A top House Republican has stated that if the GOP fails to elect a House speaker soon, they may have to make a deal with Democrats in the lower chamber. This comes after the Democrats’ minority leader made a similar claim.
During an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) was asked about the possibility of Republicans working with Democrats to elect a speaker, following the ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) two weeks ago. Mr. Turner, who heads the powerful Intelligence Committee, expressed his preference for electing a Republican and voiced his support for Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) bid.
“I think Jim Jordan will be an excellent Speaker. I think he’ll be able to get to 217. If not, we have other leaders in the House. And certainly, if there is a need if the radical, you know, almost just handful of people in the Republican side, make it unable … to be able to return to general work on the House, then I think obviously, there will be a deal [that] will have to be done,” Mr. Turner said.
Reports suggest that Rep. Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, is seeking a floor vote on Tuesday. Last week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) withdrew his bid for the speaker’s gavel after being nominated over Mr. Jordan.
However, there are doubts about whether Rep. Jordan can secure the necessary 217 votes.
With a slim 221–212 majority, Republicans can only afford to lose a maximum of four votes if Democrats vote against him as a bloc, which is expected.
Over the weekend, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) revealed that there have been talks behind the scenes between Republicans and Democrats to elect a speaker, including the possibility of a bipartisan governing coalition.
“We have made clear publicly and privately that we are ready, willing, and able to enter into a bipartisan governing coalition,” stated Mr. Jeffries during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. “We can change the rules to facilitate bipartisanship, and that should be the starting point of our conversation,” he added.
“We want to ensure that votes are taken on bills that have substantial Democratic support and substantial Republican support so that the extremists aren’t able to dictate the agenda,” Mr. Jeffries emphasized, criticizing the current House rules that allow a few Republicans to determine what gets voted on.
However, some House Republicans believe that Rep. Jordan can secure the necessary 217 votes.
Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, speaks to reporters as he arrives for a Republicans caucus meeting at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 13, 2023. (Julia Nikhinson/AFP via Getty Images)
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Tenn.), who publicly supports Rep. Jordan’s bid, stated that in the first and second rounds of voting, multiple GOP lawmakers may vote for someone other than Mr. Jordan. However, this is likely to change in subsequent rounds.
“I think in the first round, you may have some people who have to get it off their chest. They feel obligated to vote for [former Speaker] Kevin McCarthy at least once or [Majority Leader] Steve Scalise at least once or Donald Trump,” he told The Washington Times. “Then they’ll converge toward Jordan. I think it’ll be a lot to jump on after the first or second round.”
Meanwhile, Rep. McCarthy expressed confidence in Mr. Jordan’s ability to secure enough votes.
“The real challenge here is, and I know a lot of people out there are afraid that Republicans will break off and go work with Democrats, the only reason anybody’s even talking about that is because eight Republican members worked with every single Democrat to remove me from speaker and put us into this tailspin and all based upon keeping government open,” he told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
Mr. McCarthy criticized the several Republicans who voted to oust him, arguing that they made a political decision that disrupted America. He emphasized the need for calm leadership and unity to put the country back on track.
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