Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-M.D.) named a surprising figure as a potential candidate for House speaker.
Most of the House Republican Conference voted to scrap Jim Jordan’s foundering nomination in a secret ballot vote on Friday, turning the contest to replace Kevin McCarthy into a free-for-all.
On Monday, House Republicans will begin the tedious process of selecting a new speaker nominee.
While the GOP continues to bicker amongst themselves, Raskin made the rounds on cable news, where he proposed nominating ex-Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as a consensus candidate.
Raskin discussed his ideas for speaker to Fox News Digital, even before Jordan’s campaign ended:
Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News Digital that he thinks “if this doesn’t work with Jim Jordan, yes,” he sees a potential bipartisan coalition for speaker and talked up House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
“I mean, we certainly promote and favor a bipartisan solution to this,” Raskin said. “You know, I think that Hakeem Jeffries would be somebody who Republicans can work with. He’s, he’s true to his word. He’s super well organized. He’s legislatively prolific.”
“So, you know, that’s our solution. But if they find it indigestible to vote for a Democrat, there are lots of Republicans that I, speaking for myself, could support,” Raskin said. “I would think that Liz Cheney would be the natural compromise candidate. She was the chair of the Republican Conference, the number three person in their hierarchy.”
“And if they couldn’t vote for Liz Cheney, that would be a hell of a statement about the condition of their party,” Raskin said.
As the chairwoman of the House GOP caucus, Cheney was a respected leader in the party. However, her falling out with former President Trump following his defeat in the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 riot ended her congressional career.
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