Republicans Are Starting To Beg Democrats For Help to Elect A Speaker

Last updated on October 13th, 2023 at 06:57 pm

Some House Republicans are starting to publicly say that they might not be able to elect a Speaker of the House on their own and may need the help of Democrats.

NBC News reported the comments of Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL):

“The bottom line is we have a very fractured conference, and to limit ourselves to just getting 217 out of our conference, I think, is not a wise path,” Rogers told NBC News, adding that Republicans may “absolutely” need some Democratic votes to elect a speaker.

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Rogers, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said it should be up to Democrats to come to them and make an offer, and currently “they haven’t offered jack.” Democrats say the GOP — who control the chamber — should make the first move.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said that the longer this mess goes on the more likely it becomes that a coalition House government will be formed:

Cole added that the current chaos heightens the probability of an eventual House coalition government — centrist Republicans joining with Democrats.

“If people aren’t very careful, they’re going to open the door for a coalition speakership, which is not something that we should want to happen as Republicans,” Cole said, emphasizing he doesn’t want to be speaker.

Realistically, House Republicans probably have until sometime next week to figure this out. Democrats are currently doing the intelligent thing and staying out of it. Republicans won their majority. so it is their job to elect the speaker. However,  patience is already wearing thin among the non-MAGA House Republicans, so it is difficult to imagine this drama being allowed to drag on for another month.

House Democrats have made it clear what they want. Democrats want a 50/50 power-sharing arrangement in the House. They would probably want Hakeem Jeffries to be the speaker, but that might be negotiable as both sides might be able to find a moderate compromise candidate if Republicans object to Jeffries.

The only thing that a coalition House would do is end the Biden impeachment and the Jim Jordan investigations.

If House Republicans are already saying that Democrats have to help to elect a speaker, the price for their votes could be expensive.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association