Bipartisan talks gain steam as Jim Jordan struggles with speaker vote
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House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Bipartisan discussions about how to end the two-week speaker vacancy are growing in seriousness as Republicans' chaotic efforts to elect a permanent speaker struggle to gain traction.
Why it matters: The failure of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to win on the House floor on Tuesday has many Republicans worried that nobody can obtain 217 votes from their side of the aisle.
Driving the news: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Tuesday that there are "informal conversations that have accelerated over the last few days."
- "My hope, now that it's clear Jim Jordan lacks the vote to be speaker, is that those conversations will accelerate this evening," Jeffries said.
- The Democratic leader added that "high-level members on the Democratic side of the aisle are ready, willing and able to have those conversations."
Zoom in: All eyes are on Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). He views his role as constrained to electing a new speaker, but centrists in both parties have pushed to empower him to oversee legislative business.
- Some Republicans who voted against Jordan on the floor suggested afterward that empowering McHenry might be the next step.
- Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said it would be a "very prudent, smart move."
- McHenry is "respected on our side of the aisle," Jeffries said, adding, "There are a whole host of other Republicans that are respected on our side of the aisle. Jim Jordan is not one of them."
What we're hearing: Democratic and Republican members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus told Axios their 58-member group has been at the center of those talks.
- "For many days now, there have been ongoing discussions between members of the Problem Solvers Caucus and beyond to expand the Speaker Pro Tempore powers and allow the House to get back to work," said one member with knowledge of the discussions.
- "We are working with leadership to get something done with McHenry or a moderate Republican willing to work with us," said a Democratic member of the group.
Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), the chair of the moderate Republican Governance Group who has been spearheading a push to empower McHenry, is still working on that effort and has had "many positive conversations," according to a source familiar with the matter.
- Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), the Problem Solvers Caucus' Republican whip and a leading Jordan detractor, is also involved in bipartisan discussions about the matter, sources told Axios.
Yes, but: Lawmakers on both sides also suggested that lingering partisan distrust is still an issue.
- "I think the temp speaker is the most likely. ... But they have to say yes," the Democratic member of Problem Solvers said of Republicans. "We want to govern!"
- A Republican member of the group said the proposal to empower McHenry "has its problems," namely: "We will need Dems for everything."
- And, the GOP lawmaker added sarcastically, "they're so accommodating."
What we're watching: Several Republicans suggested they may stand in the way of efforts to empower McHenry.
- Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a member of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, said he doesn't think empowering McHenry is a "wise thing to do," adding, "We have to do our job, as painful as it is. ... The only way around this is to go through it."
- "I don't dislike it," said Biden-district Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.), but "anything I'm going to vote for on the floor is going to be something that's ... supported by a majority of the [Republican] conference members."
