Amid GOP House members' speaker search, Democrats say need only 5 Republicans to elect Democrat

Democrats say they need only 5 House Republican votes to get Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries elected as speaker, in "bipartisan path forward"

By Nicholas Ballasy

Democratic are seizing upon the House Republicans' disarray in trying to elect a speaker by suggesting they join force to elected a Democrat as speaker in the GOP-controlled chamber as a "bipartisan path forward."

On Wednesday evening, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on "traditional Republicans" to "break with the extremists" in the House GOP conference and "partner with Democrats on a bipartisan path forward."

"The House Republican Civil War continues to paralyze Congress. A bipartisan path forward is the only way out," he wrote on X earlier on Wednesday.

Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have pointed out that Jeffries has 212 votes from Democrats, who are in unison in their choice to elect him their leader.

Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X that "it seems much more realistic for 5 Republican members in Biden districts to vote Jeffries" than it is for any GOP candidate to reach 217 votes from only Republicans.