Editor’s note: Big Tent Ideas always aims to provide balancing perspectives on the hottest issues of the day. Below is a column arguing that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy should be elected Speaker when Republicans take the gavel in January. A piece by Congressman Matt Gaetz opposing a McCarthy speakership can be found here.
The one thing people are sick and tired of from Washington, D.C., is empty promises.
Lying to the base is a red line for me, and that’s what five of my closest colleagues are doing when they claim a consensus House Speaker candidate will emerge as they oppose Kevin McCarthy.
Here’s the reality: No one is running against Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.
No, Jim Jordan is not running. He has endorsed Kevin McCarthy. Jim is preparing to lead the Judiciary Committee as chairman, exactly where we all need him to be. Jim Jordan will lead the charge to rip apart the corrupt Department of Justice and FBI.
No, Steve Scalise is not running. He was unanimously elected Majority Leader and publicly supports Kevin McCarthy.
After spending the last two years in absolute disgust with the Biden/Democrat agenda and the disrespectful way Nancy Pelosi runs the House, I can tell you why I’m supporting Kevin for Speaker.
I’ve voted NO against the radical Democrat agenda, put Congress on record by forcing roll call votes, made procedural moves on the floor to stop bills and introduced America First legislation for all Republicans to support.
Day after day, week after week, I’ve been the Democrats’ biggest political target. I was even kicked off of my committees because I’m such a threat to their agenda.
Perhaps more than any Republican, I am ready for our majority because I believe there is real work to be done to save our country. And the last thing I want is everything blown up on day one simply because a few dislike Kevin McCarthy, who is promoting the very agenda they believe in.
Just like many Americans I am sick and tired of drama and power plays coming from Washington, D.C., that only create headlines, but produce zero results.
I believe that as members of Congress, we are elected to do a job. It’s not to be a member of the club. It’s not to promote and support our friends. It’s not to fight our own personal enemies. In fact, it’s not about us at all.
Our job is to serve the American people, and we must do whatever it takes to get that job done.
As I talk to my friends and family, and visit with many others back home, I am keenly aware they are expecting Republicans to do miracles. They want us to fix all the problems created by the Democrats and stop the madness destroying our country.
But Republicans aren’t going to be performing any miracles when a handful of members of our conference refuse to work together.
This “Never Kevin” trick has been done before. Some in the Freedom Caucus ousted John Boehner using the same “Vacate the Chair” rule that’s being demanded now. That’s how we got Paul Ryan as Speaker.
The “Never Kevin Five” are already vacating the chair by refusing to vote for our conference nominee while simultaneously demanding the “Vacate the Chair” rule to remove the Speaker at a later date.
If they are successful, they will give us something worse than Paul Ryan.
The truth is they have no plan. It’s an empty promise, which is why I’m speaking out.
So, why are those five lawmakers deceiving conservatives? I’ve been asking them for well over a month.
Let’s start with my dear friend, Matt Gaetz. Many of his attacks against Kevin McCarthy are comparisons to Paul Ryan. It’s quite ironic given Matt’s very first vote in Congress was for Paul Ryan as Speaker. Even when we all knew Paul Ryan would never deliver the MAGA agenda.
We had full GOP control and President Trump, with pen in hand, ready to sign America First legislation. This Republican failure is why I ran for Congress.
All that said, Matt Gaetz is one of my favorite members of Congress. America needs his talent and intelligence to work alongside Jim Jordan on investigations for the Judiciary Committee, not blow things up before we begin.
Another loud voice is Bob Good. For some reason, he just hates Kevin McCarthy. It’s pretty hard to understand why because Kevin put $2 million into Bob’s first campaign in 2020 and sent him more cash in 2022. Bob has a great conservative voting record, the same as mine, but he’s so focused on “Never Kevin” he can’t see past January 3rd.
The other members of the “Never Kevin Five,” Andy Biggs, Ralph Norman, and Matt Rosendale are all strong conservatives and men I respect. But they are simply “Never Kevin” without a plan for the American people.
The “Never Kevin Caucus” fails to recognize what it takes to govern and be Speaker of the House. It’s a lot more than holding the gavel. It’s an executive position, and the Speaker has to hire a full staff that is ready on day one to take charge of the Capitol and all of the bodies within.
For example, the Speaker hires, fires, and controls the Sergeant at Arms, like Pelosi did when she refused to bring the National Guard in on January 6th.
Kevin McCarthy has been preparing for months and has everything in place to not only be Speaker, but to manage the Capitol. Magically installing someone who is not prepared would stall every single thing we could do in the House, leaving Republicans ineffective and looking like failures from the start.
Unfortunately, some of the unknowing, incoming conservative freshmen are being misled about the “plan” should Kevin McCarthy lose the Speaker’s race. The political reality that isn’t being explained to them is that no matter the rules, the procedures, or even the Speaker, nothing is more powerful than each member of Congress’s voting card.
And in a razor thin majority of 222 seats, requiring 218 to pass a bill, every single Republican, regardless of ranking, is extremely powerful and important.
The fight shouldn’t be over Speaker, it should be over what bills 218 Republicans will vote for and what subpoenas and investigations we wage on our committees.
For anyone questioning Kevin, all you have to do is look at his public statements and promises. He’s on record with the most conservative plan of any potential Speaker in decades, not because he wants the gavel, but because he actually wants to deliver.
Kevin McCarthy is no fool.
He isn’t going to promise things publicly if he isn’t willing or can’t deliver them.
The Republican conference needs to vote for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House on January 3rd and fight like hell to deliver those promises to the American people.
That’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Marjorie Taylor Greene represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
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