As a faction of Democrats try to deny House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi the speakership, at least one Republican may offer her a lifeline.
Asked if he would be able to withstand the backlash from Republicans by potentially backing Pelosi, Reed indicated he would.
« You know obviously there would be significant backlash, » Reed said. « But, I firmly believe that if you do the right thing, for the right reason, the right things will happen in life. And this is that moment. »
Reed said he’s « open » to backing Pelosi because he’s « so frustrated with this institution being just a top-down driven organization that essentially — you work hard to get bipartisan consensus legislation and you’re told no — the rules of the House say no you can’t have that done. »
Reed added: « It is time to change this, and if Nancy Pelosi’s the only one’s that there, I am open to it. »
Reed’s comments are significant because Pelosi now is facing an aggressive push by a small group of Democrats to deny her votes on the House floor, where she will need a majority of the chamber to support her to become speaker. That means Republicans could potentially lend her support — something that President Donald Trump himself suggested was a possibility last week.
But Pelosi on Thursday insisted she would not need the support of Republicans, promising she would win on Democratic votes alone.
« I intend to win the speakership with Democratic votes, » she said.
Still, Pelosi will need the support of the group Reed is a part of — called the Problem Solvers Caucus, comprised of 24 Republicans and 24 Democrats that works to promote bipartisanship in Congress and present agreements on key legislation. They’re now proposing a package of reforms known as « Break the Gridlock » that would weaken party leaders’ control over which bills get brought to the floor and make it easier for bipartisan legislation to get a vote.
Pelosi met with the bipartisan group this week and praised their efforts. But the members said they need a firm commitment — in writing.
« Of course, because otherwise — we’ve had great conversations, now we have to see in detail specifically what’s going to happen, » New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat who is part of the group.
The proposals include ensuring that bills passed by committees get to the floor, requiring a panel vote for any bill that gains 290 cosponsors or a majority of members of both parties, and allowing each member to have at least one bill marked up each session as long as it has a cosponsor from the opposite party, among other ideas.
« I’ve been saying the same things for months now, I think a lot of us have, » said Democratic Rep. Tom Souzzi of New York. « I won’t vote for any speaker unless they agree to change the rules to make it easier to put things on the floor where we can find broad bipartisan consensus. »
The members of the group said they had not yet met with any other prospective challengers — including Marcia Fudge, an Ohio Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
« I think anybody who is seeking the speakership is welcome to have the conversation with us about this because in order for us to support a speaker candidate, we need to be able to adopt these reforms, » said Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida, a Democrat and member of the group. »
This story has been updated to reflect additional comment from Rep. Tom Reed.
