Why House Republicans may need to work with Democrats despite holding majority

As the threat of a government shutdown looms on the horizon and the war between Israel and Hamas rages overseas, several GOP and Democratic representatives are in agreement that the House needs to be back in session.

However, accomplishing that feat may force Republicans to do something they have been avoiding for weeks — making a deal with the Democrats as the deadline to fund the government once again rapidly approaches.

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The House has been without a speaker for 20 days, and while Republicans hold a slim majority in the lower chamber, the conference has been divided over who should take up the mantle. Three of the Republicans’ most high-profile leaders have been rejected or ousted by their conference, and with the continuing resolution passed by the House expiring on Nov. 17, GOP leaders may not have a choice but to work with Democrats in order to move forward on both electing a speaker and funding the government.

McCarthy set the precedent after working with Democrats to pass the continuing resolution back in September, receiving criticism from members of his own party who refused to vote for the bill.

“We want to get this House up and running again,” House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-MA) told the Washington Examiner. “We’ve talked about a bipartisan path forward, and there needs to be some discussion about what that would look like. … I’ve talked to a lot of Republicans individually, many of them who are embarrassed or horrified or disgusted with the way their conference is behaving. But they’re all afraid to say anything publicly.”

President Joe Biden has also asked for $105 billion in an aid bill for Ukraine and Israel, which could divide the Republican caucus. However, any effort to secure funding for Israel’s war against Hamas and move forward with appropriations bills would likely need bipartisan support.

This all comes as Republicans are struggling to elect their next speaker. As shown by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), it is unlikely that any of the nine GOP speaker candidates will get 217 votes on the House floor. Some Republicans have considered introducing resolutions that would expand Rep. Patrick McHenry’s (R-NC) authority and allow for voting on Israel and other policy measures to move forward.

However, in order to elect McHenry, or even expand his powers if that resolution comes to the floor, Republicans would be forced to acquire Democratic votes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has signaled over the last few weeks that Democrats are ready to move forward in a bipartisan manner at the GOP’s signal once there is an end to the “Republican civil war.”

“Our view is that we want a partnership in the best interests of the American people,” Jeffries said during a press conference. “That simply requires the House to reopen and function in a bipartisan way so that bills that we know have support from Republicans and Democrats get up-or-down votes on the House floor and can’t be blocked by a marauding band of extremists on the hard right. That’s what we want. That’s a reasonable ask.”

Allies of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) continue to float the idea of reinstating him, although he has not directly stated that he wants his post back. If that did happen, McCarthy would likely look to change the motion-to-vacate rule (another move that would require Democratic support) that he altered in January and allowed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to bring the motion to oust him on Oct. 3.

Democrats have been circulating data from YouGov Blue, a research division for liberal and Democratic clients, that found that 63% of respondents in a recent poll said that centrist Republicans should work with Democrats to form a bipartisan governing coalition. Only 37% of respondents said centrist Republicans should only work with other Republicans to elect a new speaker, per the Washington Post.

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Jeffries has extended the offer of a coalition government to bring bills to the floor, but hard-line conservatives have pushed back against the idea.

“No one in our conference wants to see any type of coalition government with Democrats,” Jordan told reporters Tuesday after his first speaker election in which he lost 20 Republican votes.