Democrats play cards carefully amid GOP’s Speaker chaos

The GOP’s 16-day battle over the Speakership has left Democrats patiently waiting, sitting on the sidelines to see if there’s a deal to be had.

Republicans began Thursday with plans to vote for a third time on whether to make Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) Speaker. Those plans were shelved by midday when Jordan said he would back a plan to temporarily grant powers to Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) as Speaker pro tem. After a GOP uproar left it unclear if that idea could move forward, Jordan told reporters he’d move forward with another Speakership vote.

“Have you ever played poker?” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) retorted when asked about any plans from Democrats to negotiate with Republicans. 

“For a change, we are actually, I think, playing our hand pretty well.”

And that means knowing when to hold, he said.

“You have to hold back. I mean, what are we going to go chase a deal with them in a circular firing squad? That makes no sense,” Huffman said. 

“The alternative is we run off chasing deals and eliminate all your leverage and probably not succeed anyway. So I think just by default, we’re sort of backed into this position of unity and cohesion because of the chaos over there.” 

Republicans are at a standstill on the McHenry proposals — resolutions many described as dead even as their backers say otherwise.

But as the GOP caps meeting after meeting with no clear results, it’s unclear how long Democrats will stay on the sidelines.

Democrats were tight-lipped Thursday about the extent of any outreach from Republicans, with many saying they had not been approached or describing any discussions as informal. 

“My sense is that they need to have a plan and an offer. And we’re not going to negotiate against ourselves,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) told The Hill.

“If they’re not gonna make an offer, then what are we doing?” 

Democrats all week have made clear this is not their problem to solve. 

“We are just awaiting the outcome of their conference meeting,” House Majority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) told The Hill Thursday as Republicans spent nearly three hours huddled behind closed doors.   

“They’re the majority. This is their civil war. This is a Speaker they need to choose. We have offered our hand to come and develop a bipartisan path forward with us as soon as they can.”

While Democrats say they haven’t kicked off any negotiations, they have aired their priorities, including ensuring the government doesn’t careen toward another shutdown when the funding lapses Nov. 17.

“[House Minority Leader] Hakeem [Jeffries] and Katherine [Clark] are pretty consistent in saying, we’re not asking for shared power, we’re not asking for equal representation on committees or anything. All we want is to keep the government open, let’s give money to Ukraine, along with Israel. And we have all these wonderfully popular bills that the Republicans have never allowed to come to the floor,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said, adding that they want “significantly bipartisan bills” to be able to come up for a vote.

Jeffries said Tuesday that Democrats have never sought any agreement that would undercut the GOP majority.

“We have never used the phrase ‘power-sharing agreement’ because we recognize that the Republicans temporarily hold the gavel. We respect that — we’re not election deniers,” he told reporters after Jordan’s first failed vote.

Still, those who oppose a vote on expanding McHenry’s power see it as exactly that.

“That’s a path that nobody wants to go down,” said Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), describing such a deal as “playing with fire.”

“To bring it to the floor it would have to survive with Democrat votes. We’re currently sitting on a tinderbox. So to do that, it would set off the fuse that would certainly end in a civil war within the GOP. And I don’t believe that anybody wants to do that.”

Thursday’s nearly three-hour Republican conference meeting ended with no immediate plans to bring any McHenry proposal to the floor and the House in limbo over when a vote might be called. 

“Unfortunately, the chaos over there has created a kind of holding pattern at this point,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) told The Hill.

“First, they’ve got to be willing to come forward with that resolution. And it’s unclear, especially from the blowback in their conferences this morning that that’s even the case. So if they’re unwilling to do it, then the whole question is moot.”

Huffman said the leadership vacuum is another factor in the lack of negotiations.

“Who do you talk to on their side that has the authority to make any assurances or deals? It’s certainly not going to be Jim Jordan,” he said.

That leaves Democrats largely stuck in a waiting game. 

“Right now, Dems are just watching the other side collapse,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said. “We’ll see what comes out of the ashes of that.”