Democrats float deal to end House Speaker fight

A clutch of moderate House Democrats are offering a deal to Republicans to end the chamber’s fractious fight to choose a new speaker.

The House has been leaderless since Republicans deposed Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a coup last week.

Multiple GOP speaker candidates have so far been unable to form a working coalition among their colleagues.

In a Friday letter to House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) obtained by The Post, four Democrats said they would be willing to grant him limited powers in an effort to restore basic government functions.

The four moderates were Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine). All are members of the House’s bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

“In light of our nation’s pressing issues, a looming government shutdown, and the attacks on our key ally, Israel, we strongly support an immediate vote to expand the Speaker Pro Tempore’s authorities to all for the consideration of a legislative agenda limited to the most pressing issues,” the letter read.

The issues identified by the Democrats were foreign aid and emergency supplemental funding for Ukraine and Israel; an extension of the current continuing resolution funding the government until Jan. 11; and consideration of remaining House appropriation bills for Fiscal Year 2024.

The quartet of lawmakers additionally said the emergency powers would only be granted for 15 day-increments until a permanent Speaker was chosen.

“The government cannot continue to be hamstrung — leaving American families, our economy,
and national security at risk. We hope you’d agree that we must restart the business of the House
of Representatives without delay,” the letter added.

The House Republican conference has been unable to coalesce behind a candidate for the job.

After winning an internal House vote this week, House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise was unable win over enough opponents to secure the gavel in a vote from the floor — where he can only afford to lose four of his colleagues. He withdrew from the Speaker race on Thursday.

Rep Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) the firebrand chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, won a vote among his colleagues for the job Friday.

While Jordan is a favorite among conservatives, he has struggled to win support among moderates and appears to have an even harder wall of opposition than Scalise.

One House GOP insider dismissed working with Democrats as “West Wing Fan Fiction,” but warned that Jordan had at least 20 “hard nos” among his colleagues.

“If he fails to consolidate support early next week, who the hell knows what’s next.”