Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have publicly denounced Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the establishment favorite for the next U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives, in favor of a candidate who is not beholden to significant lobbying interests from both in and outside the Beltway.
“Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have the votes to become our next House Speaker. In no way does this mean a Democrat will be elected Speaker. That’s fear-mongering by the Establishment. Our next Speaker will be a Republican who will actually fight for Americans,” Biggs said in a recent interview.
Kevin McCarthy doesn't have the votes to become our next House Speaker.
In no way does this mean a Democrat will be elected Speaker.
That's fear-mongering by the Establishment.
Our next Speaker will be a Republican who will actually fight for Americans. pic.twitter.com/k0pdedRShi
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) November 29, 2022
“I don’t think Mr. McCarthy has the votes because far more than five people have told me they’re not going to vote for Mr. McCarthy. McCarthy doesn’t have the votes. He’s not going to get the votes. The question is not: Are the people who are voting against McCarthy going to cause him to go to the Democrats? The question is: Is [McCarthy] willing to form a coalition with the Democrats rather than to step aside and give us somebody who will fight?” Biggs stated.
“Mr. McCarthy, will all due respect, has been there for six years and he has not changed the status quo. He has continued onward where we sit there and we’re saying, well where are we going? Who’s going to fight?” Biggs said. “Did you fight for the last two years or even the last four years against the Biden Administration? He’s the one who just said ‘that’s what we’re going to have to do, we’re going to have to fight.’ Well, what did you do to fight the Biden Administration? That becomes the question. That is the issue.”
“Maybe people in our conference need to quit denying that he’s not going to get there and let’s get together and let’s get a consensus candidate before January 3rd,” Biggs said.
Matt Gaetz recently spoke about the election for speaker in an interview on Saturday.
“Democrats will not elect the next Speaker of the House,” Gaetz said. “That is a threat constructed by folks in The Swamp of Washington who want a Speaker beholden to lobbyists.”
“The Democrats have 212 votes. It takes 218. I don’t think there’s a single Republican that has expressed any willingness to vote for a Democrat. I think that is a threat that is constructed by a lot of the folks in the swamp of Washington that want a speaker beholden to the lobbyists,” Gaetz said.
“You know what argument people make for Kevin McCarthy? ‘He is the LeBron James of special interest fundraising. No one extracts more money from the lobbyists and special interests than Kevin McCarthy.'”
Democrats will not elect the next Speaker of the House.
That is a threat constructed by folks in The Swamp of Washington who want a Speaker beholden to lobbyists. pic.twitter.com/NNmHhHVFxe
— Former Congressman Matt Gaetz (@FmrRepMattGaetz) December 4, 2022
“But I think that should be disqualifying, not qualifying. I frankly think that federal lobbyists shouldn’t even be able to donate to members of Congress,” Gaetz asserted.
“How is it that people who are people paid to influence our vote then get to give us money and then you act like that doesn’t influence how members of Congress think about things? That’s baloney,” Gaetz said.
“I see how our people feel let down by the folks who just play the game the same way. I’m tired of watching Washington just serve as a geography where both sides are fighting over who gets to be the valet for the special interests. This slim majority was disappointing to many, but it may give us an opportunity that even a large majority wouldn’t have presented; to actually upset the apple cart, to drain the swamp, and to not trust the biggest alligators there to do it.”
– Matt Gaetz
U.S. House Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) has also declared his opposition to McCarthy and recently emphasized the importance of the Speaker of the House.
“The Speaker, I would make the argument, is the most powerful office in the country. The speaker sets what we vote on, it sets the amendments. It’s a powerful position. The magic date is not now. The magic date is January 3rd of 2023. That’s when we officially vote,” Norman said.
“It would be derelict of anybody not to have the debate [of] ‘who ought to be the next speaker?'” Norman added.
“You do not have to be a sitting member of Congress to serve [as Speaker of the House]. It will be apparent in the coming weeks who that person will be. I will tell you, it will be interesting if everything plays out,” Norman said.
The U.S. Constitution does not require that the Speaker of the House be a current member of Congress, however, no non-members have ever been elected.
The election for the next Speaker of the House will take place on January 3rd, 2022.
