Hakeem Jeffries Flexes Muscles as Mike Johnson Flounders

WASHINGTON—House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries stepped in to save Speaker Mike Johnson this week after months of patiently taking the pulse of his conference. The question now is whether he would save the Republican chief again—and what he would demand in return.

The unprecedented rescue mission came as the 53-year-old New Yorker is fighting to wrest back control of the House from Republicans this fall and take the gavel for himself. On Wednesday, he sided with Johnson over Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) and her allies, who were angry over how the speaker teamed with Democrats to pass government spending bills and foreign aid to Ukraine.

No one is ruling out a further challenge to Johnson, particularly as another must-pass spending bill—and likely more Republican discord—looms in September. Some Democrats say Jeffries needs to take a hard line if Johnson again needs his help, and how the Democratic leader responds could have broad implications for both the functioning of the House and his own political prospects.

“We need more common sense and less chaos in Washington, D.C., and House Democrats are going to try to govern in a reasonable and responsible and results-oriented fashion,” Jeffries said in a brief interview outside of the Democratic cloakroom. After the vote, he declined to comment on the party’s future plans if Johnson were challenged again by Greene or another dissident Republican.

“Haven’t given it a thought,” he told reporters.

Asked if bringing too much calm to the chamber could backfire in the fall elections, Jeffries said: “If House Democrats continue to get things done and put people over politics, then I’m confident that the American people will vacate the extreme MAGA Republican majority in November.”

Johnson, who has cast GOP victories in the elections as critical to saving the country and called for party unity, acknowledged the crucial role Democrats played in saving him. His majority is razor-thin—217-213—and any single member can call a vote to remove him, a circumstance that also has made Jeffries the most powerful minority leader in memory.

“I think that Democrats believe in the institution and they see exactly what we see and the American people see,” Johnson said Thursday on Fox News. “These are dangerous times. And the country desperately needs a functioning Congress.”

Johnson’s GOP critics have referred sarcastically to Jeffries as the true House speaker rather than Johnson, to point out the GOP leader’s weakness.

The speaker gave the Democrats “everything they wanted, no different from how Hakeem Jeffries would have done,” Greene said Wednesday on the House floor.

Jeffries and Johnson said there were no conditions tied to Democrats’ assistance. Jeffries said he rescued Johnson as appreciation for him allowing a vote on Ukraine aid, a demand of Democrats that was folded into a $95 billion foreign-aid package that passed Congress last month.

The decision to defend a GOP speaker marked a change from last October, when Democrats sided with eight rebellious Republicans in voting to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.).

Beyond this week’s vote, however, Jeffries isn’t showing his cards, speaking instead in generalities and trying to paint Democrats as the saviors willing to step in to save the House as an institution. While most Democrats joined him in the 359-43 vote to block the effort Wednesday by Greene to oust Johnson, dozens didn’t.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri and other members of the left-wing Squad voted against blocking the measure, as did other prominent progressives. They said it was folly to rescue a GOP leader whom Democrats strongly disagree with on issues such as abortion rights and spending.

“This is not a continuing thing,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.), the chair of the Progressive Caucus, who voted against rescuing Johnson. “If we’re going to be in a situation where Marjorie Taylor Greene puts forward more motions to vacate then we need to be getting something for it…we’re wasting our time.”

On CNN, in a reference to Johnson, Rep. Seth Moulton (D., Mass.) said, “If this happens again, he’s going to have to make a deal with us.”

The next test for Jeffries and Johnson could come when government funding expires at the end of September. Lawmakers are likely to pass an extension, though that same effort led to the ousting of McCarthy last year.

Jeffries is the first Black man to lead a party in Congress, and would become the first Black speaker if Democrats are successful in November. He was first elected to the House from a Central Brooklyn district in 2012 and honed his political style as a partner in a major law firm and a state lawmaker in Albany, N.Y. Associates say he learned to be strategic and deliberate in exerting his influence.

On saving Johnson, members said Jeffries held many individual conversations and at leadership meetings ahead of saying he would save Johnson. He held back as several people—such as Rep. Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.) and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.)—said they would back the GOP speaker against a push for his ouster. Others said Johnson should be thrown to his own wolves.

Jeffries gave an early signal in February when he told the New York Times he expected some Democrats would step in to rescue Johnson if needed. He later said he had been making an observation, not a prediction. Ultimately, last week, Jeffries and other Democratic leaders issued a formal statement that they would block the effort by Greene if she brought it to a vote.

“I think it helped convince people who were undecided,” said Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, an outspoken California progressive. “He tried to drive consensus.”

Jeffries, above all things, is calm, according to lawmakers and aides. He listens and has an impressive memory for details of past conversations. He is comfortable quoting both the rapper Biggie Smalls and the Bible—even using the beef between Tupac Shakur and Biggie as a metaphor to explain conflict in a recent meeting, said Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.).

“He is not a person who is quick to react,” Rep. Grace Meng (D., N.Y.) said of Jeffries. The two served together in the New York State Assembly, and she was elected to the House from a nearby district the same year as Jeffries. “You will rarely see emotion on Hakeem’s face whether you are bringing up something negative or positive.”

Democrats flexed their muscles last month when they helped move the foreign-aid package by providing votes in the Rules Committee—a tactic unheard of, even for bipartisan bills. They also helped with votes on passing the bill, both in its first procedural vote and then in final passage.

Jeffries didn’t do it without first making a point. He had most Democrats hold their votes on the procedural vote until it was clear they were needed. Then, when he voted, they let loose and delivered the votes.

Write to Natalie Andrews at [email protected] and Jimmy Vielkind at [email protected]