Prominent US Democrats are declining to help the Republican Party overcome dissent within its ranks and help Rep. Kevin McCarthy get the 218 votes he needs in order to become the next speaker of the House of Representatives.
The race to secure the speaker’s gavel was suspended Wednesday night after six failed votes, with officials later voting to postpone their session until noon Thursday.
Twenty Republican members of the House continue to stand in open revolt against McCarthy after casting their ballots for Florida’s Rep. Byron Donalds in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds of voting.
In light of the impasse, a number of Democrats have offered the Republicans an alternative way out.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speculated a continuing GOP failure to establish a consensus could “result in a potential coalition government.” However, the incoming chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. Pete Aguilar, threw cold water on the idea Wednesday.
“This is on them,” Aguilar insisted during a press briefing in the Capitol.
“If there was something that was real, we would look at that,” Aguilar said. “But I haven’t seen any proof that Republicans are willing to engage.”
“At the end of the day, this is a Republican mess,” Rep. Ro Khanna claimed Tuesday night, adding that “this is their problem to fix.”
The California Democrat couldn’t resist getting in a jab at his Republican colleagues.
In a reference to Democrats’ preferred choice for House speaker, Khanna joked “Democrats stand ready if they want to vote for Hakeem Jeffries.”