Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, says a deal “will have to be done” with Democrats to choose a new House speaker if Republicans are unable to elect someone on their own after GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the position this month.
During an interview Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Turner was asked whether he could envision a scenario in which Republicans could work with Democrats to find a “mutually acceptable speaker.”
Turner said although he would “prefer there to be a Republican solution” and believes Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, would be an “excellent speaker,” the path to electing someone could come down to Republicans reaching across the aisle to make it happen.
“I think he’ll be able to get to 217,” Turner said of Jordan. “If not, we have other leaders in the House. And certainly, if there is a need if the radical, you know, almost just handful of people in the Republican side … to make it for us unable to be able to return to general work on the House, then I think obviously, there will be a deal that will have to be done.”
The House voted by a slim, six-vote margin to oust McCarthy when a handful of conservatives joined Democrats to remove him. The vote marked the first time in U.S. history that a speaker of the House was ousted.
Republicans nominated Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., for the speakership in a secret ballot vote last week, defeating Jordan by a vote of 113-99. But Scalise dropped his bid for the spot just a day later after it became clear that he would not be able to get the votes needed to be elected.
On a second try, Jordan won the GOP nomination for speaker in a 124-81 vote, defeating Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. It is unclear, however, whether Jordan can secure the 217 votes needed on the House floor.
Democrats in recent days have ratcheted up their rhetoric against Jordan, an outspoken Trump ally, whom they cast as an insurrectionist, election denier and extremist.
“House Republicans have selected as their nominee to be the speaker of the people’s House the chairman of the chaos caucus, a defender in a dangerous way of dysfunction, and an extremist extraordinaire,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Friday on the steps of the Capitol, flanked by dozen of Democratic lawmakers. “His focus has been on peddling lies and conspiracy theories and driving division amongst the American people.”
Some moderate Democrats have expressed a willingness to enhance the powers of temporary Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., in the interim. In a letter to McHenry last week, centrist Democrats Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Susie Lee of Nevada, Ed Case of Hawaii, and Jared Golden of Maine supported empowering McHenry in 15-day increments to allow the House to conduct business. But many Republicans are opposed to the idea of enhancing McHenry’s powers.
The House adjourned for the weekend after Jordan’s nomination for speaker. A second ballot asking members if they could back Jordan on the House floor fell short of the 217 votes he needs to secure the job, with 152 lawmakers voting in favor and 55 opposed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
