Last Updated on January 5, 2023
Texas State Rep. Bryan Slaton has called on the Lonestar State’s federal delegation to withdraw its support for U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the ongoing U.S. House Speaker battle. Most of the Texas delegation has stuck by McCarthy with notable defections from U.S. Reps. Chip Roy and Keith Self. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) has gone so far as to label McCarthy’s Republican detractors as “terrorists.”
“The battle in DC continues… @GOPLeader has not agreed to the requests of the 20. In fact he still has Pelosi’s rules in place,” Slaton wrote in a tweet Thursday. “No one should vote for him while he still supports and plans to operate under Pelosi’s rules.”
https://twitter.com/BryanforHD2/status/1611029089636212737
The fight over Nancy Pelosi’s House rules has been at the center of the ongoing battle for House Speaker. McCarthy detractors have called for a change to the “status quo” and a number of additional concessions, including a ban on the practice of earmarking.
Detractors have also called for the reinstatement of a motion to vacate the chair, which allows a vote on a new House Speaker if one member objects. Proponents of the motion have argued that it allows debate over the Speaker position as opposed to a de facto, rubber stamp decision made by party leaders.
“It doesn’t matter which legislative body you’re talking about: Republicans who enable Dems to impose the leftist-radical agenda should never be in leadership,” Slaton wrote in another tweet earlier this week. “Join me in urging members of the Texas delegation to Congress to vote NO on Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the U.S. House.”
https://twitter.com/BryanforHD2/status/1610310608968187905
As of Thursday afternoon, Kevin McCarthy has now fallen short in seven votes in his quest to become Speaker. Calls have grown for him to step aside and work out a deal with his critics on a consensus replacement, both at the federal level and among a growing number of state representatives from across the nation.