• Biden says Republicans can help build a "significant majority" for Dem priorities in a GOP House.
  • House Democrats, however, say that's up to Republicans and who controls their agenda.
  • "It looks like it's Marjorie Taylor Greene and extreme MAGA Republicans," Rep. Pramila Jayapal said.

President Joe Biden says moderate Republicans can help make a "significant majority" on Democratic priorities in the GOP-led House this Congress, but Democrats aren't so sure.

They question whether they can work with House Republicans on anything beyond "must-pass" legislation when they say "extreme" GOP members seem to be leading the caucus.

"It kind of depends on which Republican Party is controlling the agenda, and right now, it looks like it's Marjorie Taylor Greene and extreme MAGA Republicans," Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal told reporters.

House Minority Whip Katherine Katherine Clark told Insider: "That's up to the GOP. We're here to work for the American people whenever they are."

Biden delivered his optimistic message on bipartisanship this week to House Democrats gathered in Baltimore for an issues conference, saying the House passed bipartisan measures in the past and there's still work to be done this Congress on police and immigration reform, protecting voting rights and making Roe v. Wade the law of the land. 

"I know as well as you, the MAGA Republicans are not going to get onboard for most of these things, but that leaves a lot of Republicans that are still left," Biden said. "Watch what happens. Republicans can help make a significant majority in some of these things."

House Democrats told Insider they see working across the aisle as a good goal, and there will be several opportunities for bipartisanship on the Farm Bill, Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization, and the National Defense Authorization Act.

But they say the GOP caucus is being led not by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy but by more "extreme" Republicans who are allied with former President Trump, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. 

"I think it's gonna be difficult just given the dysfunction that we saw the very first week," said Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin. "We're seeing it continue now in month two, that Kevin McCarthy is not in charge of his caucus in any way. And you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to be the lead spokesperson these days."

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday, before Biden's speech, "The extreme MAGA Republicans are in control right now of the United States House of Representatives, and that's a bad thing for the American people."

Biden's lighthearted spin on Greene was that she'll help Democrats recruit GOP support. "You're gonna have a lot of Republicans running our way," he told House Democrats on Wednesday night.

Asked whether she agreed, Clark called Greene "the queen of misinformation" who can "continue to do her cable TV nonsense" while Democrats work for Americans.

Pocan and Jayapal both said they hope to recruit support for measures from "responsible Republicans" who have spoken with them privately. 

Jayapal said she's heard from some GOP representatives who say "they don't like the way the party is going and they actually want some bipartisan reforms." The parties will have to work in a bipartisan way on the farm bill and on legislation to lift the debt ceiling, Jayapal said. 

"I just don't know how many other things we'll be able to do," she said. "I hope I'm wrong."

Pocan said some Republicans want to reach across the aisle, but they aren't outspoken because they have to deal with their base.

"Once Donald Trump is gone, I think we get back to more normal, but until then, they're all appealing to 30 percent of Republicans rather than the general populace," he said.