The Socialists Want to Hold Congress Hostage

Hakeem Jeffries has a problem. The Democratic Socialists of America are already discussing what they will demand in exchange for helping him become the next speaker of the House of Representatives.

And they aren’t being subtle about it.

An Oct. 14 article in the DSA’s magazine, Democratic Left, was titled “Socialists in Congress Should Hold the Speakership Hostage.” Written by two DSA members, it urges socialist lawmakers to withhold their votes from Jeffries if Democrats retake the House in November, unless he agrees to change the rules in their favor.

The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 18 that this is more than just a proposal in a socialist magazine. DSA leaders are actively working with endorsed congressional candidates on concessions they might seek from Jeffries in return for their support.

The DSA already counts Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan among its allies. Five additional DSA-backed candidates have won Democratic congressional primaries: Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros in Colorado, and Donavan McKinney in Michigan.

If enough of them win in November, and Democrats take the House by only a few seats, Jeffries could need their votes to become speaker. That is the leverage the socialists hope to exploit.

The Democratic Left article proposes two changes to House rules. One would make it easier for lawmakers to force bills onto the floor for a vote. The other would make it easier to remove the speaker, potentially allowing a single disgruntled lawmaker to force a vote to oust him.

Taken together, they would give a small faction the ability to repeatedly challenge House leadership and threaten its hold on power.

And what do the socialists intend to accomplish if they get their way? The article suggests forcing votes to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement, end aid to Israel, and impeach President Donald Trump. It also references Medicare for All and an arms embargo against the Jewish state.

According to the Journal, candidates and DSA leaders have discussed other demands, including wealth taxes, a higher minimum wage, and legislation strengthening unions.

For Democrats running in competitive districts, that is quite a shopping list to explain to their constituents.

Jeffries, meanwhile, has emphasized an agenda of lowering costs, expanding access to healthcare, and investigating the Trump administration. A fight over the speakership could push those priorities aside before a new Democratic majority even begins work.

DSA-backed candidates have also reportedly promised to remain closely involved with the organization after taking office. National co-chair Ashik Siddique said leaders and candidates would decide on their demands together. McKinney, the Michigan nominee, described asking Jeffries, “How long do you want to be speaker for?”

The magazine essay is not an official directive from the DSA, and there is no guarantee that its congressional allies will vote as a bloc. But the Journal’s reporting shows that the broader effort to extract concessions is real.

The socialists have an unlikely role model: conservative Republicans.

In January 2023, a handful of GOP holdouts forced Kevin McCarthy through 15 ballots before agreeing to elect him speaker. One of their concessions made it easier for a single lawmaker to trigger a vote to remove him.

Nine months later, McCarthy was ousted. The House then went 22 days without a speaker.

The Democratic Left authors explicitly praise that tactic. They say socialists should learn from their “ideological opposites.” The authors have little use for the Freedom Caucus’s politics. But they clearly admire the leverage those Republicans extracted from their own party leaders.

There is, of course, a crucial difference between seeking votes on legislation and using the threat of paralyzing the House as an ongoing source of power. The DSA authors openly advocate the latter, arguing that rule changes could advance their movement even while Donald Trump remains president and can veto their proposals.

Thus far, Jeffries has not agreed to their demands. Nor would every DSA-backed lawmaker necessarily endorse this strategy.

But the prospect should concern Democrats who hope to govern with a narrow majority.

The DSA does not need to control Congress to wield enormous influence over it. Hakeem Jeffries may discover that the price of becoming speaker is giving the socialists the power to decide how long he keeps the job.

But the threat goes far beyond Jeffries and the Democratic Party.

If a handful of socialists can hold the House hostage whenever they don’t get their way, it is Congress that will be paralyzed and the American people who will ultimately pay the price.

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.

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