House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized the Republican initiative to evict two senior Democrats from their Capitol offices.
What Happened: Jeffries referred to the move to displace former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) as “petty, partisan and petulant.”
Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry‘s (R-N.C.) office instructed Pelosi to clear her office by Wednesday, while Hoyer was removed from his “hideaway office” the same morning. Jeffries expressed his disapproval of McHenry’s decision in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
Jeffries stated that following the narrow avoidance of a government shutdown and the historic ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), “things only deteriorated from there.”
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He accused House Republicans of lashing out and attempting to shift blame. The Democrats, according to Jeffries, have sought bipartisan solutions and a “way out” of the dysfunction created by the House Republicans.
"The House should be restructured to promote governance by consensus and facilitate up-or-down votes on bills that have strong bipartisan support," Jeffries wrote.
He reinforced the Democrats’ commitment to finding a bipartisan path forward but emphasized that Republicans need to be willing to “break with MAGA extremism.”
Why It Matters: This development comes in the wake of a historic vote in the House of Representatives, which saw Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) removed from his leadership role due to internal GOP discord. The motion to oust McCarthy was initiated by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) due to McCarthy's cooperation with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown.
Pelosi, last month, had announced her decision to run again for reelection to regain control of the House and counter any potential return of former President Donald Trump. Her decision was influenced by her commitment to halt Trump's possible return to power and cater to San Francisco's "special needs."
Meanwhile, Pelosi, on Friday, brushed off McHenry's decision to boot her from her Capitol "hideaway office." She called it “incidental” and said she had more important concerns. She added, "The office means nothing to me!"
Photo by Lev Radin on Shutterstock
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