House lawmakers will vote for a speaker after nearly two weeks without a lawmaker wielding the gavel, and some Democrats are salivating at the Republican candidate’s possible victory.
Republicans nominated Rep. Jim Jordan as the speaker designate last week after a pair of closed-door votes. Democrats in the House have lobbed condemnations at Mr. Jordan, Ohio Republican, calling him an extremist and leaning into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has continued to press that Republicans and Democrats must find a bipartisan solution for the speakership.
“The extremists have broken the House of Representatives, ” Mr. Jeffries wrote on X. “Only a bipartisan governing coalition can fix it.”
Still, a victory by the GOP’s speaker designate could turn into a political win for House Democrats. The Washington Times has reached out to Mr. Jeffries’ office on that point.
Rep. Brad Sherman, California Democrat, told the Forbes Newsroom podcast that a Mr. Jordan victory would be a political boon for Democrats.
SEE ALSO: Trump sings praise for Jordan ahead of vote for House speaker
“If he becomes the face of the Republican House of Representatives, while Donald Trump is the face of the Republican Party, I think that a lot of people will vote for Democrats,” Mr. Sherman said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out messaging guidance in a memo directing Democrats to make moderate Republicans and conservative lawmakers in battleground districts pay for a victory by Mr. Jordan.
“The DCCC is committed to ensuring that every battleground member of the Republican conference who stands and votes for a Speaker Jordan will be making a career-ending move,” the memo said.
Mr. Jordan’s ascension to the gavel is not guaranteed, though more and more conservative lawmakers have been warming to him. On Friday, when the speaker designate won the nomination, at least 52 lawmakers said they wouldn’t support him on the House floor.
That number appears to have dropped substantially. Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, said that “there’s somewhere south of 10” lawmakers still holding out against Mr. Jordan.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.