Jeffries Indicates Democrats Unlikely to Support Jordan as Speaker Due to Extremist Views
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) emphasized the importance of bipartisanship in the race for Speaker, but expressed reservations about the Republicans’ latest nominee.
On Friday, House Republicans nominated Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as their second choice for the leadership role after Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) withdrew from the race the day before.
Jeffries, addressing reporters after the vote, referred to Jordan as the “chairman of the chaos caucus,” criticizing his association with the House Freedom Caucus. Jeffries argued that Jordan promotes dysfunction and extremism, focusing on spreading falsehoods and conspiracy theories while sowing division among the American people.
Scalise dropped out of the race when it became clear that he would struggle to secure the 217 votes required to move forward. In response, Jeffries urged Republicans to select a more traditional member of their party, emphasizing the responsibility of the majority party to elect the Speaker from within their own ranks. He also suggested that traditional Republicans might need to collaborate with Democrats on a bipartisan path forward if the GOP couldn’t find common ground.
Jeffries continued to call for a bipartisan coalition, stating that Democrats are prepared to work with traditional Republicans who desire functional government but face challenges within their own party dominated by extremists.
While Democrats unanimously nominated Jeffries as Speaker, it appeared unlikely that he could secure enough votes with a GOP majority. Nonetheless, Democrats insisted that Republicans must make concessions if they expect the minority party’s support in nominating a Speaker.
Jeffries questioned whether Republicans would continue to choose chaos, dysfunction, and extremism over bipartisanship.
These remarks came 10 days after the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), with eight Republicans and all Democratic representatives voting to replace him. McCarthy expressed his full support for Jim Jordan, highlighting their prior collaboration in Congress.
Currently, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is serving as acting Speaker, but the House cannot vote on legislation without a confirmed leader. A floor vote on Jordan is anticipated next week as lawmakers recessed for the weekend.
