Jeffries Suggests Democrats Could Save Johnson’s Speakership

However, the House minority leader said this is an ‘observation’ not a ‘declaration,’ as there would need to be a conversation before deciding how to proceed.
Jeffries Suggests Democrats Could Save Johnson’s Speakership
House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speaks to the press after meeting with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders at the White House in Washington on Feb. 27, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Jackson Richman
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) suggested on April 11 that Democrats would come to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) rescue were there to be a motion to strip him of the gavel.

“If the speaker were to do the right thing and allow the House to work its will with an up or down vote on the national security bill, then I believe there are a reasonable number of Democrats who would not want to see the speaker fall as a result of doing the right thing,” he told reporters.

However, Mr. Jeffries said that this is an “observation” and not a “declaration,” as there would need to be a conversation before deciding how to proceed.

Mr. Jeffries’s comments come a day after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) met with Mr. Johnson behind closed doors only weeks after filing that motion to vacate, though she has not brought it to the floor. Ms. Greene has expressed frustration with Mr. Johnson on numerous issues, including Ukraine assistance, renewal of FISA Section 702, and the $1.2 trillion bill to fund most of the government.

The $95 billion national security package the Senate passed in February has stalled in the House as Republicans have criticized the Ukraine portion. The legislation also includes assistance for Israel, Gaza, and the Indo-Pacific.

It also has $400 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which gives hardened security to nonprofit institutions and has been a crucial resource for the Jewish community amid the rise in antisemitism following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The most recent government funding bill consisted of a 10 percent cut in the program—a move decried by Jewish groups.

There are Democrats who have said or suggested that they would vote for Mr. Johnson to remain speaker were Ms. Greene to move with the motion to vacate.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) told multiple outlets he would vote to save Mr. Johnson’s speakership.

“I will never stand by and let MTG take over the people’s House,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“The ball is in his court. If he is a fair actor with us, we’ve got no reason to get rid of him,” Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) told Axios.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently told CNN that Mr. Johnson would not have a free get-out-of-jail card.

“I don’t think we do that for free, and I don’t think that we do that out of sympathy for Republicans,” she said, though she noted she'd likely vote for Mr. Jeffries.

Ms. Greene’s meeting with Mr. Johnson did not result in any resolution.

Speaking with reporters following the meeting, Ms. Greene reiterated her frustration with Mr. Johnson’s tenure as speaker.

She told reporters that she had told Mr. Johnson he had broken the House GOP’s “trust.”

Ms. Greene remained ambiguous about whether she would bring the motion to vacate to the floor. She said the bill to reauthorize the controversial Section 702 of FISA, which allows surveillance abroad that has come under fire for what critics say is spying on Americans, and assistance for Ukraine are unacceptable, although she said she did not give him “a red line.”

She said Mr. Johnson would not say if he would bring Ukraine aid to the floor even though he previously said he wanted to help Ukraine.

Ms. Greene lamented that his “leadership has been completely opposite” of former President Donald Trump’s policies.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Johnson responded to the motion filed by Ms. Greene to strip him of the gavel. He warned that such an effort would bring “chaos in the House.”

He acknowledged Ms. Greene’s frustration with the appropriations for fiscal year 2024 but noted that the GOP does not have much leverage even with its one-vote House majority, the only part of government they currently control.

The motion to vacate “wouldn’t be helpful,” according to Mr. Johnson.

“It would be chaos in the House.”

Jackson Richman
Jackson Richman
Author
Jackson Richman is a Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times. In addition to Washington politics, he covers the intersection of politics and sports/sports and culture. He previously was a writer at Mediaite and Washington correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. His writing has also appeared in The Washington Examiner. He is an alum of George Washington University.
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