Incoming Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) said House Republicans are in “historic turmoil” as a result of GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) relentless pursuit to become the next speaker of the House.
The House adjourned on Wednesday after a sixth round of voting in which a coalition of conservatives blocked the California Republican’s bid to become speaker. House Democratic leadership held a press conference on Thursday morning, blasting Republican’s inability to coalesce around a leader.
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“Kevin McCarthy is now being held hostage to his own ambitions by the dangerous members that he’s enabled,” Clark said. “Let’s look at the extremists who have taken over. Lauren Boebert is whipping votes. MTG is their spokesperson, and Matt Gaetz is negotiating the rules.”
Clark said her caucus, which has voted for incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on all ballots for speaker, will stick around through the weekend to continue voting, if needed.
“We are here. We are in full attendance. And we are going to remain so,” she said.
At the press conference, Jeffries said there has been communication back and forth with McCarthy, but that it has just been on procedural matters. The New York congressman emphasized Democrats are not going to help Republicans elect a speaker.
“Tip O’Neill got along with Ronald Reagan. Ted Kennedy got along with Orrin Hatch. Joe Biden got along with John McCain. Nancy Pelosi got along with John Boehner. Ruth Bader Ginsberg got along with Antonin Scalia. All we are asking is House Republicans to get along. With each other,” Jeffries said.
When asked if Democrats have discussed making demands in exchange for helping Republicans gather enough votes to elect a House speaker, Jeffries said the short answer is no.
The drawn-out battle over electing the next speaker raises questions about how the House will be able to govern, especially as lawmakers on Capitol Hill are gearing up for a political showdown over raising the country’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit this coming spring or summer. The debt ceiling increase is a must-pass item awaiting the new Congress, something Republicans, especially in the House, see as critical leverage.
Some conservative holdouts in the House are demanding the next speaker make a stand against passing a clean debt limit increase, setting up a major fight with Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden that could have major economic implications.
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“Every day that goes by when Congress doesn’t organize, is the day that we get closer to a historic default on our debt. That’s a problem,” Jeffries said. “And we need to get working on that because we are about to hit the debt ceiling in a few months.”
“One thing we will not do is allow extreme MAGA Republicans to try to hold the American economy hostage,” he said.
