Democrat Will Help Republicans Elect Speaker Under These Conditions

Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips offered to help Republicans elect a new House speaker on Tuesday.

Republicans have struggled to elect a new leader following former speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's ouster earlier in October, setting off weeks of turmoil as Congress faces a critical November 17 deadline to avert a government shutdown.

Two other Republicans, Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, have already tried, but failed to garner enough support to win a floor vote, and now several Republicans are vying for the position, with a vote expected on Tuesday.

Phillips, a Minnesota Democrat, floated a potential deal with Republicans to help elect a speaker in exchange for a handful of promises to moderate Democrats in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Tuesday morning.

He said he would sit out the vote if Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer wins an internal GOP election to become their nominee. Emmer currently serves as house majority whip and is viewed as a more moderate contender who previously voted to uphold President Joe Biden's electoral college victory and for same-sex marriage.

"The dysfunction in the House is a national and global security issue. I would sit out the speaker vote if Tom Emmer will fund our government at negotiated levels, bring Ukraine and Israel aid bills to the floor, and commit to rule changes to make Congress work for the people," Phillips wrote.

Phillips sitting out the election would help Emmer by lowering the number of votes needed to win an election on the House floor.

Currently, any Republican nominee would need to win 217 votes to become speaker. That number is usually 218, but is lower due to two vacancies. If some Democrats do not show up to the House floor at the time of the vote, the number of votes a speaker nominee needs to win drops. This would make it easier for Emmer, or another nominee, to withstand detractors.

Such a move will likely be needed for a more moderate speaker nominee, as conservative hardliners have made clear several red lines, including more aid for Ukraine as it defends itself against the Russian invasion.

Some Republicans have already indicated they would not vote for Emmer. Rep. Rick Allen of Georgia told Punchbowl News his vote for same-sex marriage disqualifies him from the position.

It remains unclear whether Emmer can win his party's support in an internal vote, how many detractors he would have on the House floor and how many Democrats are willing to sit out of the speaker race.

Newsweek has contacted Phillips and Emmer's offices for comment via email.

Thus far, Democrats have coalesced around Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York in each speaker vote. Some members of Congress have floated a bipartisan power-sharing agreement, but this has not come to fruition.

Phillips, a centrist first elected in 2018, is also reportedly mulling a primary challenge to Biden. His campaign would be viewed as a longshot, as Biden leads Democratic rivals in every poll. But many Democrats have voiced the need for a new nominee due to concerns about Biden's electability.

Rep. Annie Kuster, a New Hampshire Democrat who chairs the centrist New Democrat caucus, told Politico that Phillips' remarks were "not helpful."

"It's not helpful to make reference to specific House members that might be willing to pursue this path. Because what we learned last week is that then their support erodes in in their caucus," Kuster said, adding that Republicans should be "coming to us" when they hit "rock bottom."