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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats have “effectively” governed as the majority due to ongoing Republican infighting.
The New York congressman spoke to CBS’ “60 Minutes” about the possibility of Republicans planning to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. House Democrats have suggested that they may vote against a motion to oust him, sparing him from the same fate as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
This suggestion, along with Republicans’ dwindling majority, led Jeffries to admit that Democrats “effectively” govern the House with their votes necessary to pass legislation.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called out the Republican “extremists” threatening to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“Even though we’re in the minority, we effectively have been governing as if we were in the majority because we continue to provide a majority of the votes necessary to get things done,” Jeffries said. “Those are just the facts.”
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Despite some Democrats agreeing to help Johnson should the time come, Jeffries emphasized that the motivation was purely to protect Congress rather than any sympathy for Republicans.
Speaker Mike Johnson is facing mounting threats to his leadership role over his push for foreign aid. (Getty Images)
“Our view would traditionally be, ‘Let the other side work its own mess out,'” Jeffries said. “But when that mess starts to impact the ability to do the job on behalf of the American people, then the responsible thing at that moment might be for us to make clear that we will not allow the extremists to throw the Congress and the country into chaos.”
He later added, “It’s a difficult situation on the other side of the aisle, because many of my Republican colleagues are more interested in creating chaos, dysfunction and extremism.”
With Republicans already losing seats as members resign, Jeffries also acknowledged that the election could be a toss-up for control of the House.
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Conservatives are skeptical of House Democrats’ pledge to save Speaker Mike Johnson’s job (Getty Images)
“We can’t take any vote for granted,” Jeffries said. “But I also believe that, at the end of the day, voters are going to look at the totality of circumstances. Who is fighting to deliver for everyday Americans, and who is simply fighting for himself?”
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Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.
