Democrats are poised to exert control over the House floor this week by forcing three votes as Republicans cling to their fragile majority.
As Democrats look to take the House in November, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has boasted about forcing GOP leadership’s hand through a handful of votes and canceled session days.
“Democrats have repeatedly governed in the minority as if we were in the majority, and we’re going to do so again this week as it relates to what I believe will be a successful war powers resolution tomorrow, and then a successful vote to stand up for the free world, for democracy, for truth, and the Ukrainian people on Thursday,” Jeffries told reporters Tuesday.
“They made life worse for the American people, and so that’s one of the reasons why I’m convinced that Republicans continue to cancel votes and do everything they can every week to get out of town before Sunday,” Jeffries continued.
The House on Wednesday passed the resolution, forced to the floor by Democrats, to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran, as four Republicans joined all Democrats to get the measure across the finish line.
Democrats have also forced a handful of votes earlier this year on war powers that all failed, and GOP leadership pulled another before it could pass ahead of the Memorial Day recess.
But House Democrats are not stopping there.
Democrats and centrist Republicans are planning to force a tough vote via discharge petition on sending $1.3 billion in aid to Ukraine and instituting new sanctions on Russia. The parliamentary procedure bypasses the committee process and forces legislation directly to the floor for a vote after receiving support from 218 lawmakers.
Later this week, Democrats are also expected to force a vote on another war powers resolution in an effort to halt any possible U.S. involvement with Israel’s war in Lebanon.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has had difficulty managing one of the slimmest margins in congressional history and often relied on absences, vacancies, and, at times, President Donald Trump’s influence over the conference to pass critical legislation.
The Washington Examiner contacted the speaker’s office for comment.
This is not the first time Democrats have reached the necessary 218 signatures on a discharge petition this Congress.
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Some of the most high-profile legislation this Congress passed have been through a discharge petition, including bills to overturn Trump‘s effort to end temporary protection status for Haitian migrants, force a release of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
While these measures passed the lower chamber, only the Epstein Files Transparency Act has been signed into law.