Last Updated on December 28, 2022
House Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) has been suggested as a potential candidate for U.S. Speaker of the House in lieu of establishment GOP frontrunner for the position, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23) by several political analysts in anticipation of the election for the office on January 3rd.
Internet denizen, Dr. Benjamin Braddock, asserted that Zeldin has widespread support across the GOP. “Kevin McCarthy does not currently have the votes to win the Speaker’s gavel. The House Republican conference should strongly consider uniting around Lee Zeldin as a consensus candidate for Speaker,” Dr. Braddock said.
“His campaign gave the GOP the majority, he is widely respected across various factions, he understands House rules and procedures, he has impeccable integrity, and he doesn’t back down from a fight,” Braddock added.
His campaign gave the GOP the majority, he is widely respected across various factions, he understands House rules and procedures, he has impeccable integrity, and he doesn’t back down from a fight.
— Dr. Benjamin Braddock (@GraduatedBen) December 27, 2022
Zeldin criticized the New York State Legislature on Saturday for its special session conducted on December 22nd in which they gave themselves a pay raise of $32,000.
The bill passed in the special session in Albany awaits the approval or rejection by New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D).
“That should be vetoed in a heartbeat. You’re going back into Albany into a special session just before Christmas. What stockings are you going to be stuffing? They choose to solely stuff their own and take money out of yours in order to be able to stuff their own,” Zeldin said.
“What they should be doing is overhauling cashless bail. They should be passing term limits. They should be doing more to tackle the migrant crisis that has come to New York and New York City,” Congressman Zeldin said.
“There’s so much more that should be done to represent New Yorkers but instead, they’re just out there representing themselves. It’s pretty outrageous. A $32,000 pay raise just in time for their own Christmas,” Zeldin said.
The NY State Legislature was in a special session this week.
To enact term limits? No!
To overhaul cashless bail? No!
All they did was stuff up their own stockings with a MASSIVE pay raise for themselves.
Was on @FoxNews this AM with @GriffJenkins to discuss. pic.twitter.com/HGaBdlg1Cr
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) December 24, 2022
“The reason we won the House is because of Lee Zeldin, not because of McCarthy’s fruitless vision. Folks if we won around 240-250 house seats I would hae said hats off Kevin you deserve to become Speaker. That clearly didn’t happen. We need new leadership in the Republican Party,” The Calvin Coolidge Project said.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise is another potential candidate for U.S. House Speaker in Kevin McCarthy’s stead, despite the fact he endorsed McCarthy publicly.
“If Kevin [McCarthy] doesn’t get it, Scalise gets it easily,” another Republican added.
“Mr. Scalise said he has no intention of running for speaker and ‘supports Kevin McCarthy’ for the position,” a spokeswoman for Scalise said on Monday.
“I think people just trust Steve more, and they don’t always trust Kevin,” another Republican source stated. “Scalise is more conservative on the kind of stuff that matters to some people.”
“Does he want to be Speaker? Absolutely. But is he going to screw Kevin? Absolutely not,” another GOP source added.
