Hakeem Jeffries Blasts Republican 'Dysfunction' in Battle for House Speaker

Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, railed against what he views as Republican "dysfunction" in the battle for speaker of the House.

On Tuesday, California's Kevin McCarthy, who has been the House minority leader, repeatedly failed to receive enough support in his effort to become the next speaker. There are 222 Republicans in the House, and he needs the support of 218 if every member submits a ballot.

A faction of hardline conservatives has refused to pick McCarthy, instead opting for Ohio's Jim Jordan in Tuesday's third round of voting. Wednesday's fourth round saw the anti-McCarthy conservatives support Byron Donalds of Florida.

Democrats, meanwhile, have supported Jeffries with every vote in every round.

The stalemate signifies the first time in a century that the House hasn't elected a speaker on the first ballot.

Jeffries' comments came in response to a question from NBC News' Ryan Nobles, who had asked whether Democrats could rally behind a consensus candidate—possibly a moderate Republican—for the role.

"We are looking for a willing partner to solve problems for the American people, not save the Republicans from their dysfunction," Jeffries replied. "We need a partner in governance to build upon the incredible progress that we made for the American people over the last few years—by the way, with a similar majority."

Jeffries was elected in November to head the House Democrats. He replaced longtime Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who decided to walk away from a leadership role. It marked the first time in history that a Black person was named to lead a party in Congress.

Jeffries credited Pelosi with helping to usher in a litany of wins for the Democrats, citing the COVID-era American Rescue Plan, improvements on infrastructure, domestic job creation and lowered costs for prescription drugs.

"Those are just the highlights of what Democrats did with a similar narrow majority," Jeffries said. "So, we're ready to get to work to build upon those accomplishments, if we can find a partner willing to govern on behalf of the American people."

Some have praised the congressman for his approach to the House speaker vote.

"Mr. Jeffries will be a great leader," Michigan GOP Watch tweeted on Wednesday morning, along with CSPAN's clip of the exchange. "This is a perfect response to the GOP disfunction."

Other politicians have retweeted the video, too, including Georgia Democrat Marcus Flowers, who lost to GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene during the November midterms.

"This bears repeating," the former congressional candidate wrote in a tweet.

On Tuesday, shortly after the 118th Congress convened, Jeffries highlighted the GOP's intraparty issues on his own social media page.

"Day One. House Dems are united and ready to get to work," he tweeted. "Complete chaos on the other side of the aisle."

When reached for comment, Jeffries' office said the tweet speaks for itself.