Opinion The quiet vindication of Hakeem Jeffries
But now, with Republicans still struggling to elect a speaker, Democrats’ strategy — largely charted by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — is plainly working. The New York Democrat’s approach to navigating the GOP’s disaster isn’t just proving to be good politics for his party; it’s likely to produce a better result for the country as well.
Only weeks ago, Jeffries faced stern questioning from reporters on whether his party would provide the votes to rescue McCarthy and prevent the House from plunging into prolonged chaos. But this affair shows that when Democrats ignore the disapproval of the pundit class, the spotlight turns back on GOP efforts to quell their mania within. It has forced Republicans to vote on whether a full-blown MAGA firebrand such as Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan really merits the awesome powers of the speakership.
Eight Republicans are now running to be speaker after Jordan fell short of the 217 Republican votes he needed last week. Punchbowl News reports that the “top contender” is Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who voted to certify Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, as well as for previous rounds of Ukraine aid and government funding.
By contrast, McCarthy relentlessly whitewashed the Jan. 6 insurrection. He also tried to renege on a deal to maintain spending at a level both parties support. Democratic aides tell me they consider Emmer a more reliable negotiator than McCarthy, though few will say this publicly to avoid rallying conservative support against him.
To Jeffries’s credit, McCarthy’s downfall also forced Republicans to vote publicly on Jordan for speaker (who maxed out at around 200 GOP votes), which benefited Democrats politically. As Ronald Brownstein writes for the Atlantic, the mere fact that most Republicans nominated a member so deeply involved in Trump’s 2020 conspiracy vividly showcases the GOP’s turn away from democracy.
But the vote also forced Republicans to defeat Jordan, compelling some to go on record rejecting the MAGA tactics wielded by his supporters, such as bullying their colleagues and threatening holdouts. The bloc of 20 to 25 Republicans who voted against him — a combination of vulnerable members from swing districts, experienced appropriators and military veterans — bucked MAGA and have lived to tell the tale.
If Republicans can’t get 217 votes for one candidate, they will have to revisit the idea of empowering Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (N.C.) as temporary speaker, Punchbowl reports. Though Republicans rejected that option last week, the pressure is mounting to find a solution, and several have offered resolutions that would let McHenry preside over passage of so-called “must-pass” legislation.
The rub is that because the far-right wing opposes this move, it would require Democratic support — which gives Democrats leverage. Rep. Ann Kuster (N.H.), chair of the New Democrat Coalition, said her group would back a bipartisan option, including a temporary speaker such as McHenry, with assurances that legislation backed by a majority of House members would get a vote.
“If we have a viable offer with those parameters, I could definitely see that providing a path forward,” Kuster told me. She said the bedrock request of New Democrats, who represent a large bloc of moderates, is that “bills with bipartisan support that would pass the House come to the floor.”
Such legislation could include aid to Ukraine and government funding once current spending runs out in mid-November. Finding a bipartisan coalition here is not at all far-fetched: More than 100 Republicans recently voted for Ukraine aid and for temporary government funding at mutually acceptable levels (though that temporary funding ultimately didn’t include the Ukraine money).
Rather than once again expecting Democrats to rush in and help Republicans clean up their own mess, it would require the GOP to take responsibility for what’s happening in its ranks, and compel the party to seriously entertain working with Democrats to make the House a functional governing body again.
Some Democrats, such as Kuster, think Republicans will gravitate toward this endgame if they can’t elect anyone. “What they’ve been telling us is they have to hit rock bottom,” Kuster said. “I think we’re getting there.”
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