It seems to good to be true…
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s honeymoon is officially over. The Louisiana Republican has been pummeled from the most conservative members of his caucus for agreeing to a spending deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), which naysayers say gives Democrats more than enough funding for their domestic goodie packages.
With a single House Republican able to initiate proceedings to overthrow the conference’s leader, Johnson didn’t have much wiggle room for dissent to begin.
Now, after a spat of retirements and one resignation has left House Republicans with a perilous two-seat majority, House Democrats are giving Johnson a way out; a path to crush potential usurpers.
But the Democrats have a few conditions of their own.
The Hill explains:
Democrats willing to consider the matter said Johnson would first have to forge an agreement with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) ensuring Democrats had a greater voice in the legislative process. In that case, they’d be willing to provide the votes to keep the Speaker in power.
“Just like I told McCarthy: Talk to Hakeem, and there are some of us that can support you,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), referring to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was booted from his leadership post last year at the hands of disgruntled conservatives.
“I’ll say the same thing [to Johnson].”
Cuellar is not alone among Democrats floating the idea of a Johnson rescue.
“He would have to be more willing than Kevin McCarthy was to sit down with Hakeem Jeffries and have a conversation about what it would take for us to be helpful. Kevin said to pound sand. He didn’t want the help,” retiring Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) confided to The Hill.
“We wouldn’t be offering it as an act of charity,” Kildee made clear. “We would say, ‘Look, if you need Democrats to govern, then you’re going to have to take Democratic input.’”
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