‘Speaker Hakeem Jeffries’: House Republican Says She’s Worried Democrats Will Retake the House BEFORE the Election

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) expressed concern about the spate of Republican retirements hitting the House of Representatives.

Last week, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) announced he will step away from Congress in April. When he departs, the GOP majority will be a narrow 217-213 with potentially more Republican early retirements to come. Gallagher’s revelation came just as former Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) called it quits.

On Monday’s Kudlow on Fox Business, Larry Kudlow was baffled by Gallagher’s decision to leave after Wisconsin’s cutoff date for holding a special election to fill the seat. Instead, it will remain vacant until January 2025.

“What’s Gallagher think he’s doing?” the host asked Tenney.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “He’s gotta stay.”

Tenney then raised the prospect of Democrats retaking the House thanks to more Republican retirements, which would elevate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to the speakership:

We can get a special election. It’s a very safe Republican seat. We’ll add to our majority. We don’t have the other special [election] to fill Kevin McCarthy’s seat until April 30th. And we’re perilous. We could end up being– having a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries in the interim here while we’re waiting for special elections.

Personally, if you’re going to make a commitment to the people that elect you, that you’re going to serve for two years unless you have a really good reason not to serve, then why would you do that? And aren’t we team Republican?

Tenney is not the first Fox guest to float the idea of Jeffries becoming speaker before the next Congress.

“I think the possibility of Speaker Hakeem Jeffries sometime between now and January 3rd next year is rising pretty rapidly,” Gerard Baker told Fox News earlier this month.

Watch above via Fox Business Network.