House Republicans were no closer to choosing a replacement speaker for ousted Kevin McCarthy on Thursday night, as a plan to give more power to Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-NC) drew opposition from hardliners and at least one conference leader.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the Republican speaker-designate, floated the proposal during a closed-door meeting at the Capitol — only to face backlash from supporters of his own speaker bid, including GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY ).
“People across #NY21 and America can rest assured that I strongly oppose any attempt to create a Democrat-backed coalition government,” he wrote on X after the meeting.
“I will vote to support Jim Jordan for Speaker on the House floor,” Stefanik said as members remained uncertain Thursday afternoon when or if a third vote would be held.
House Republicans failed to unite around a plan to empower speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) on Thursday, leaving their caucus adrift. Getty Images Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) floated the proposal during a closed conference session in the Capitol building — but faced backlash from supporters of his speaker’s bid.Getty Images
GOP lawmakers emerged from the meeting convinced that the prospect of “Speaker” McHenry was no prospect at all.
“I think it’s dead. … I don’t think it’s going to fall to the floor,” said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), whose estimates were echoed by fellow Floridians Kat Cammack and Vern Buchanan.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a staunch Jordan ally, went further and called McHenry’s pick “the biggest FU to Republican voters I’ve ever seen.”
“I will vote to support Jim Jordan for Speaker on the House Floor,” House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said after throwing cold water on McHenry’s resolution. Getty Images Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks to reporters as she arrives for the Republican caucus on Thursday.AP
“We handed our majority back to the Democrats by following the power sharing agreement. It doesn’t make sense,” he told reporters.
But some pro-Jordan members are ambivalent about the idea.
“I certainly support McHenry because the speaker is there to process the bills that will be issued,” argued Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas).
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a staunch Jordan ally, went further and called McHenry’s resolution “the biggest FU to Republican voters I’ve ever seen.”
“The real work here happens in committee; the real work is happening on my task force with the cartels,” he explained. “Arguing with each other about who is the most popular, that’s not real work. The real work is done on our committee. It passed the law.”
After 16 days of deadlock following McCarthy’s ouster on Oct. 3, bad blood between the eight Republicans who voted with 208 Democrats to remove him and the entire conference surfaced Thursday, as the House of Representatives faced pressure to respond to Israel’s war on Hamas terrorists.
“We are in uncharted territory as a country in the middle of a Middle East war,” said Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), the first Green Beret ever elected to Congress.
“I think it’s dead. … I don’t think it’s going to fall to the floor,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said of McHenry’s choice.REUTERS
“Where I come from, as a veteran, if you have to blow a bridge, you better have another one to cross. The eight obviously don’t have one more to cross.”
House Republicans erupted when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) went up to speak to his colleagues, with one source telling The Post that almost “the whole room was booing” and “yelling at him to sit down.”
The source also said Rep. Michael Bost (R-Ill.) unloaded with angry shouts at Gaetz, who led the motion to vacate McCarthy’s speakership.
Tensions rose to a fever pitch when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) stepped up to address his colleagues, with one source telling The Post that almost “the entire room was booing” and “yelling at him to sit down.”
Gaetz later explain the incident as “like Thanksgiving dinner” with Bost playing the “drunk dad,” according to the Washington Examiner.
“I was at the microphone, I was talking and Matt Gaetz tried to interrupt, so I told him to sit down and he sat down,” McCarthy told reporters.
“I think the whole conference screamed at him,” he added. “The whole country, I think, is going to be screaming at Matt Gaetz right now. Remember, it’s the crazy eight led by Matt Gaetz and every Democrat who put us in this situation.”
“I think the whole conference screamed at him,” former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters after the meeting. “The whole country I think would be screaming at Matt Gaetz right now.” Getty Images
Others unleashed pressure on the 22 GOP teams running against Jordan who are under intense pressure from the Ohioan’s alleged supporters.
Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) said they or their family members have received death threats following their second vote, while Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said his wife had slept with a “loaded gun” by her side after receiving threatening anonymous texts.
But Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) emerged from the ruckus and told The Post that he expected a vote on a third speaker at some point Thursday evening, with McCarthy apparently poised to deliver the nomination speech at Jordan’s request from the front.
Others expressed feelings about the 22 people who detained those who opposed Jordan receiving death threats, with Rep. Long Island’s Nick LaLota and Rep. Georgia’s Drew Ferguson says they have taken action to get out the vote.Getty Images
At around 7pm, however, Jordan’s office announced the next round of voting would be held on Friday at 10am
He met with the holdouts in the afternoon to try again to win them over but failed to persuade the members who later spoke to reporters about the discussion.
“We performed for members at [McHenry] resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work,” Jordan told reporters after leaving the conference session.
“We decided that’s not where we were going,” he said. “I’m still running for speaker, and I plan to get out there and get the vote.”
One of those holdouts, Hudson Valley Representative Mike Lawler, said after meeting with Jordan that the House should empower McHenry or reinstate McCarthy.
“We decided that was not where we were going,” Jordan said. “I’m still running for speaker, and I plan to get out there and get out the vote.” Getty Images
“The best thing that can happen right now – for our conference, the House of Representatives and the country – is for a cooler leader to come forward, the grievances of the past should be dropped, and for Republicans to admit that ousting Kevin was a mistake and make things right,” he said in a statement. “We must prove to the American people that we can govern effectively and responsibly, or in 15 months we will be debating who the Minority Leader will be and preparing for a second term for Joe Biden.”
The Ohio Republican had expected to “try to increase the vote until January” with McHenry overseeing the House, a source familiar with Jordan’s plans told The Post, but that changed after it became clear that the speaker pro tem idea was not feasible.
The same source confirmed that Jordan “didn’t drop out.”
“Let’s make a third vote. It will go backwards. It’s time to stop,” said Rep. Don Bacon, (R-Neb.), who supported McHenry’s choice to his caucus.Getty Images
At the same time, members who voted against the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee insisted his chances of getting the gavel on the third vote were slim.
“Let’s make a third vote. It will go backwards. It’s time to stop,” said Bacon, who endorsed McHenry’s choice to his caucus. “Ultimately, you have to work with the Senate Democrats, the president. We need to find a consensus.”
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who opposed McHenry’s proposal, suggested that a consensus could only be reached by rallying around their party’s presidential candidate.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who opposed McHenry’s proposal, suggested that consensus could only be reached by rallying around their party’s presidential nominee.AP
“No one in this room can get to 217 [votes]. Nobody. We threw out our speaker who had 96% support in the conference,” Nehls said after leaving a tense GOP session.
“We threw out the second most popular Republican in the country. The second most popular — who was first? You all know who it is: Donald J. Trump,” he argued.
“I think Donald Trump can do the impossible and turn it into reality,” Nehls continued. “We see it as four years in the presidency. You saw the demonstration outside this building yesterday. If Donald J. Trump were president, Hamas would not be in Israel. We will not spend billions in Ukraine without a strategy. The administration does not give us a strategy. You put Donald Trump here, he can set his agenda. I suggest we give him 100 days.”
Gaetz told reporters earlier this month that conversations with the 77-year-old former president had convinced him that the move to oust McCarthy was “the right thing to do.”
Trump has denied any involvement in the anti-McCarthy plot.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
