Winning back control over the U.S. House of representatives was supposed to be the one bright spot for the GOP. But choosing a Speaker has gotten in the way of that.
And now this COLOSSAL GOP announcement could install Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House yet again.
Republicans certainly fell short of their expectations for the 2022 midterms.
But there were a couple of positives that went their way when all was said and done.
Of course, Ron DeSantis utterly destroying his Democrat opponent in the Florida Gubernatorial race was a bright spot for any conservative to celebrate.
And Republicans were able to capture control over the U.S. House with a few seats to spare.
But it appears the GOP are even trying to shoot themselves in the foot and ruin their opportunity in the House of Representatives as well.
There was talk during the weeks leading up to the midterms that Republican Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) could face some challenges in his bid to become the next Speaker of the House.
McCarthy did win the GOP nomination for the Speaker of the House 188-31. But those 31 “no” votes were concerning for McCarthy because he needs 218 votes from his colleagues in the chamber to win the Speakership.
McCarthy wins the GOP nomination for speaker – 188-31.
Seven weeks to sway almost all of those 31 members to his side before Jan. 3
— Emily Wilkins (@emrwilkins) November 15, 2022
And now that might be even harder because Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has announced on Twitter his bid to become the next Speaker of the House.
I’m running for Speaker to break the establishment.
Kevin McCarthy was created by, elevated by, and maintained by the establishment.https://t.co/tKLPXUxSOA
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) December 6, 2022
He and others in the House like Representatives Chip Roy and Matt Gaetz argue that McCarthy is an establishment politician who won’t get much done for true conservative policy.
Others argue that Biggs might be a bit too critical of McCarthy at a time when the GOP needs to be able to counter the radical Democrats’ attacks on America’s institutions.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), known for her staunch defense of conservatism, has said that she doesn’t want to see a holdup take place over the Speakership of the House.
“But the goal is to stop that from happening, to get everybody on the same page, and create unity so that we’re ready from day one,” Greene said to the media.
Either way, this certainly makes Kevin McCarthy’s life a little bit harder and his future more uncertain than it was right after the midterms.
What makes this so interesting is that Democrats are basically certain to only vote for another Democrat to be the Speaker of the House.
Major Democrats like Nancy Pelosi have made it quite clear that there’s basically 100% unity amongst House Democrats to defy any Republican trying to get the 218 votes needed to win the spot.
What’s particularly interesting is that the Republicans have NOT been quite so clear in their opposition to working with Democrats.
Representative Don Bacon told NBC news that he will work with Democrats to elect a Speaker if McCarthy doesn’t win.
And with Democrats only a handful of seats away from 218, it would only take a few Republicans like Don Bacon cutting a deal for Democrats to have a say in who holds the gavel next.
Who would the Democrats turn to in that situation? Almost certainly Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy Pelosi winning another bid at controlling the gavel in the House would be utterly stunning, but is not as unlikely as you would think unfortunately.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal for updates on the U.S. House of Representatives.
