Democrats Join Republicans in Plan to Block Jim Jordan

Congressional Democrats are not ruling out working with moderate Republicans to secure a deal to block Representative Jim Jordan from becoming the next Speaker of the house.

Republicans are struggling to pick the next House leader after conservative hardliners ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over a short-term government funding deal he brokered with Democrats earlier in October, sending the House of Representatives into chaos.

Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who is a MAGA favorite, failed to garner enough support from the GOP's moderate wing to win a House vote Tuesday evening.

The situation has sparked questions about Republicans' ability to unite behind a single candidate as Congress faces a November 17 deadline to pass a series of appropriations bills to avert a government shutdown, which would impact millions of Americans, as well as pressure to pass new foreign aid bills for Ukraine and Israel.

Some lawmakers have floated the idea of a temporary agreement to expand the authority of Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, to pass crucial priorities in the coming months—and the idea appears to have support from both Democrats and Republicans.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, declined to rule the idea out when asked about the possibility of backing McHenry on Tuesday evening.

"Our focus right now relates not just to any one individual but to getting the institution reopened. I have respect for Patrick McHenry. I think he is respected on our side of the aisle. There are a whole host of other Republicans who are respected on our side of the aisle. Jim Jordan is not one of them," Jeffries told CNN.

Newsweek reached out to Jeffries' office for comment via email.

Even if Congress elevates McHenry to a temporary position, the GOP's internal divisions, as well as those between Democrats and Republicans, would still make it difficult for Congress to pass appropriations bills, Grant Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek on Tuesday.

"However, shutting down the government probably carries with it larger political costs than taking several weeks to settle on a speaker, so the incentives to act might be stronger. If it comes to this, I'd look for another set of temporary continuing resolution deals, with the assumption (hope) that more permanent funding decisions will be made once a speaker is named," Reeher said.

Moderate Democrats, Republicans Push Temporary Speaker Fix

Several moderate Democrats have joined calls to make McHenry the temporary leader. Representative Wiley Nickel, a North Carolina Democrat, warned that Congress cannot wait "any longer for Republicans to get their House in order" in a statement released Saturday.

"I support this proposal to grant Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry with temporary, expanded authority so Congress can support our allies in Israel and Ukraine, extend the current short-term government funding while full-year spending bills are worked out, and pass bipartisan suspension bills on the House floor," Nickel wrote.

Meanwhile, the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of centrist House Democrats, also called for Congress to empower McHenry on Friday.

"This is a time for courage and creativity by members of both parties, and a time for civic-minded Americans to put aside their cynicism and pessimism about what is possible in the People's House. A stable, bipartisan governing arrangement is the most viable path forward for the U.S. House after nine months of instability and the last ten days of chaos. Things can get better if we start to work together," the caucus wrote in a statement.

Several Republicans have echoed similar calls for a temporary bipartisan agreement, with some members of Congress discussing the potential of a longer-term deal.

Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican who voted against Jordan, said McHenry would be a "logical choice" to make a 30-day speaker.

"Undoubtedly, we would give him full power so that if there is an Israeli package, supplemental spending package that comes over from the White House, we would have the ability to vote on that, Ukraine aid and other issues that are urgent. Not emergencies, but urgent. I think there is other business that we need to get done in terms of spending and making sure we keep the government open," he said.

Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican who also opposed Jordan, voiced support for the idea Wednesday morning, reported Punchbowl News' Max Cohen.

"There's a consensus that we need to, in the meantime, have a process where we can move legislation forward to get the conservative agenda back on track that has been derailed," he said.