Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich attacked Republicans who are opposing Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s, R-Calif., bid for speaker Monday.
Gingrich launched the salvo against McCarthy’s opponents during a Monday appearance on Fox & Friends, saying the vote threatens to throw the GOP into “chaos.” He argued that the small group of hard line lawmakers don’t have the “moral right” to oppose the will of the overwhelming majority of Republicans who do support McCarthy for speaker.
“I don’t understand what they’re doing. They’re not voting against Kevin McCarthy, they’re voting against over 215 members of their own conference. Their conference voted overwhelmingly, 85%, for McCarthy to be speaker, so this is a fight between a handful of people and the entire rest of the conference,” Gingrich said.
“They’re saying they have the right to screw up everything,” he continued. “Well, the precedent that sets is…any five people can get up and say, well, I’m now going to screw up the conference too. The choice is Kevin McCarthy or chaos.”
LAUREN BOEBERT, MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SNIPE AT EACH OTHER OVER MCCARTHY SPEAKER SUPPORT
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) watch election results in a room with staffers at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 2022. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., left, speaks with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as the House votes on creating a January 6th Committee at the U.S. House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
McCarthy made a final bid to convince the right wing of his party to support his speakership on Sunday, offering major concessions to the group ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
His central concession is allowing for any five Republican representatives to force of vote of no confidence in the Speaker. He also vowed to end the practice of proxy voting and virtual participation in hearings, requiring lawmakers to be in Washington to participate in hearings and votes.
ANDY BIGGS TO CHALLENGE KEVIN MCCARTHY FOR SPEAKER ON HOUSE FLOOR
Previous House rules, put in place by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, required a member of the House leadership from the majority party to initiate a vote to remove the current speaker.
Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., and Bob Good, R-Va., have already vowed to oppose McCarthy’s bid. He also faces potential opposition from GOP Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Chip Roy of Texas, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Harris of Maryland and Andrew Clyde of Georgia, along with Rep.-elects Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Eli Crane of Arizona, among others.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., conduct a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on a resolution requesting information from the Biden administration on Ukraine funding, on Thursday, November 17, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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“Every single Republican in Congress knows that Kevin does not actually believe anything. He has no ideology,” wrote Gaetz in a December op-ed for the Daily Caller. “Some conservatives are using this fact to convince themselves that he is the right leader for the moment, as McCarthy is so weak he’ll promise anything to anyone.”