Hakeem Jeffries Feels Democrats 'Effectively' Governing As Majority As GOP Works 'Its Own Mess Out'

Amid ongoing chaos within the GOP, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has asserted that the Democrats are effectively governing as the majority in the House.

What Happened: Jeffries made this claim during a CBS "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday, The Hill reported. He stated that the Democrats have been governing as if they were in the majority due to the fractured state of the GOP.

"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.

"Our view would traditionally be, ‘Let the other side work its own mess out.’ 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."

The GOP’s majority in the House is currently slim, with only a five-seat advantage. This leaves Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) with little room for error on controversial bills without Democratic support. Johnson also faces a potential ouster threat from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has criticized him for working with Democrats.

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Jeffries and the Democrats have stated they will protect Johnson against Greene's motion to vacate. Greene is expected to make her motion to vacate privilege this week, potentially setting up a vote.

Jeffries has already used the Democrats' influence to pass some bipartisan priorities in the House, including a $95 billion foreign aid package last week. Johnson voted with Democrats to advance the bill, a move that Greene cited in her decision to go after the Speaker.

Why It Matters: The current turmoil within the GOP has been brewing for some time. Speaker Johnson has faced criticism from conservatives due to the lack of border security provisions in his latest foreign aid proposal. Johnson dismissed the criticism, attributing the lack of action to Senate and White House Democrats.

Adding fuel to the fire, Greene has been threatening to oust Johnson for over a month. Top Democrats have rallied to shield Johnson from Greene’s ouster threat, further intensifying the ongoing tensions within the House of Representatives.

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