One House Democrat said he has some names of Republican members he’d support for House speaker over the current nominee.
Fox News Digital staked out the House Democrats’ conference meeting Tuesday morning and asked blue members going in if they think there is still a bipartisan speaker coalition on the table after Republicans nominated Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
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.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE ON NEW SPEAKER
“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.
Cheney left office in 2021 and served as the House Republican Conference chairwoman at the time of her departure.
Fox News Digital pressed Raskin on if he has any other names in mind for a Republican candidate he could get behind.
Raskin said “there are several of them” he could see himself getting behind but that he “wouldn’t want to spoil any of their chances by stating their names publicly.”
The Maryland Democrat also said it “seems like any bipartisanship on the part of Republicans becomes a disqualifying factor” in their deliberations for speaker.
“So I’m hoping that cooler heads will prevail, but it would be a very extreme statement for them to choose Jim Jordan as speaker,” Raskin said.
Fellow Democrat Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said it is possible for a bipartisan coalition but railed against Jordan.
McGovern said he believes that the GOP “kind of hit rock bottom” by nominating Jordan and quipped that “Halloween is coming early.”
The Massachusetts Democrat also said “there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Jim Jordan in terms of policy” is a “different waiter” with the “same menu.”
“But the bottom line is Jim Jordan I think, you know, he’s stood for things more openly that quite frankly, were offensive,” McGovern said. “I was the last person on the floor on January 6, and the idea that this guy is a Republican nominee to be speaker, a guy who aggressively agitated the activities that happened on January 6, I think is disgusting.”
California Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu told Fox News Digital “there is always an opportunity” for a bipartisan coalition while his fellow Golden State Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman did not answer the question, just saying it is “a sunny day.”
Meanwhile, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., as well as Democrat Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib did not answer Fox News Digital’s questions on a potential bipartisan coalition.
D.C. saw a cloudy Tuesday ahead of the speaker’s vote that Republicans hope to see ascend Jordan to the gavel.
Jordan has been making calls for days to shore up support for his gavel bid from members of his conference.
The House Judiciary Committee chairman was selected by the GOP conference on Friday as their speaker nominee.