A group of moderate House Democrats offered Republicans a deal to end the chamber’s scramble to choose a new speaker.
The House has been without a leader since Republicans ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a coup last week.
Several GOP speaker candidates have so far been unable to form a working coalition among their colleagues.
In a letter Friday to House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) obtained by The Post, four Democrats said they would be willing to give him limited powers in an effort to restore basic government functions.
The four moderates are Rep. Josh Gottheimer (DN.J.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine). All are members of the House’s bipartisan Problem Solving Caucus.
“Given our nation’s pressing issues, the looming government shutdown, and the attacks on our key ally, Israel, we strongly support an immediate vote to extend the powers of the Speaker Pro Tempore to all for consideration of a legislative agenda that is limited to the most. urgent issue,” the letter read.
The House has been without a leader since Kevin McCarthy was ousted from power last week by his colleagues. Getty Images
Issues identified by Democrats are foreign aid and emergency supplemental funding for Ukraine and Israel; an extension of the current continuing resolution that funds the government until Jan. 11; and consideration of the remaining House appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2024.
The quartet of lawmakers also said emergency powers would only be granted for a 15-day extension until a permanent Speaker is elected.
“Government cannot continue to be constrained – leaving American families, our economy, and national security in jeopardy. We hope you agree that we must resume the business of the House of Representatives without further delay,” the letter added.
A group of House Democrats has struck a deal to give interim powers to the interim speaker. Getty Images
The House Republican Conference was unable to unify a candidate for the post.
After winning an internal House vote this week, House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise couldn’t win over enough opponents to get the gavel in the vote off the floor — where he was only able to lose four of his colleagues. He withdrew from the Speaker’s race on Thursday.
Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the key chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, won a vote among his colleagues for the post on Friday.
Although Jordan is a favorite among conservatives, he has struggled to win support among moderates and appears to have a tougher wall of opposition than Scalise.
One House GOP insider dismissed working with Democrats as “West Wing Fan Fiction,” but warned that Jordan had at least 20 “hardliners” among his colleagues.
“If he fails to consolidate support early next week, who knows what will come.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
