All Democrats are anticipated to be within the Capitol on Friday for the vote to seat the subsequent Speaker of the Home, in keeping with the Democratic whip’s workplace.
The total participation of Democrats is critical, given the razor-thin margins within the decrease chamber and the risk from some conservative Republicans to oppose the bid by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the present Speaker, to maintain his gavel within the 119th Congress.
Already, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is vowing to vote for somebody aside from Johnson on the ground on Friday, which suggests another GOP defection would deny Johnson the straightforward majority of voting members wanted to safe the Speakership — if all Democrats are on the ground and voting for his or her Speaker choice: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
If even one Democrat is absent, Johnson can afford two GOP defections and nonetheless win the gavel. If three Democrats don’t take part, he might afford three.
These dynamics have made the query of Democratic attendance a subject of nice curiosity in Washington — a query fueled by well being issues dealing with a small handful of Democratic lawmakers. That checklist consists of Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who has spent a lot of the previous yr present process therapy for lung most cancers, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who lately had hip substitute surgical procedure at a U.S. army hospital in Germany after struggling a fall in Luxembourg final month.
On Thursday morning, Pelosi posted a brief message on the social platform X from an airplane, which she mentioned is en path to Washington. And the workplace of Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.), the Democratic whip, mentioned occasion leaders predict all members of the caucus to be available for Friday’s vote.
