The leader of the House Democrats just indicated that he is ready to find a "bipartisan" solution to the speakership dilemma.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) did so on Sunday during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union.
This comes after House Democrats and a small group of House Republicans ousted U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership position.
Some Republicans have been against the ouster, some have not been against it, and some are not sure what position to take.
The concern among many Republicans is that House Republicans may end up in a worse position than they were in with McCarthy - that the Democrats could capitalize on the situation - that the Republicans could lose the advantage that is afforded to them by their House majority.
Jeffries, now, appears to be trying to facilitate this.
During his CNN appearance, Jeffries stated that House Democrats are ready "to enter into a bipartisan path forward."
"To the extent that my Republican colleagues are unable to resolve the ongoing Republican civil war, we’ve made clear as Democrats that we are ready, willing, and able to find common ground, to enter into a bipartisan path forward," Jeffries said.
The House minority leader continued:
So, we could govern the House in an enlightened fashion that ensures that bipartisan priorities that have significant support from Democrats and Republicans in the House can receive an up or down vote so that we could move forward and get things done for the American people, as opposed to allowing the extremists within the House Republican conference to continue to dominate the agenda.
Jeffries then went on to, once again, reiterate that House Democrats are "willing to find common ground with our Republican colleagues in a bipartisan way whenever and wherever possible."
This, of course, is all political speak for "the Democrats are ready to seize power from the Republicans."
The Washington Post reports:
House Republicans plan to gather Monday night in a closed-door, phones-off, members-only meeting to discuss where the conference goes next after their speaker . . . The gathering is the first of several members-only meetings that the conference plans to hold this week as it works to select McCarthy’s successor.
The two frontrunners to get the job are U.S. Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Steve Scalise (R-LA). Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Jordan.
The big question, though, will be whether House Republicans can unite behind one of these candidates. If not, then Jeffries might just get his wish.
