GOP member says House Republican Conference is back where they started

Table Of Content

• Speaker Johnson Says GOP Close to Decision on Biden Impeachment
• Rep. Steve Womack says there was "significant opposition" to Emmer during roll call vote
• House Republicans Are Fighting To Restore American Energy Dominance
• House Freedom Caucus member does not rule out backing Rep. Emmer for speaker
• d Republican joins motion to oust Mike Johnson as House speaker
• New U.S. military aid is finally heading to Ukraine — but is it too little, too late?
• Kevin McCarthy wins GOP nomination for House speaker
• User Clip: House GOP Press Conference: Scalise & Johnson

Never mind that Senate Republicans let the former president off the hook each time. Of course, that’s the opposite of the achievement they promised two years ago, ahead of the midterm elections that gave them control of the House. Back then, some chest-beaters were vowing to impeach President Biden as well as members of his Cabinet, starting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the administration’s border security czar, and sweeping up Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray (a Donald Trump holdover, by the way), Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Lord knows who else.

Speaker Johnson Says GOP Close to Decision on Biden Impeachment

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul warned that the conference should elect a new speaker by Wednesday to avoid appearances of weakness and dysfunction amid war in Israel. The campaign has said that they have gathered more than 500,000 signatures -- surpassing the necessary threshold, but will continue to gather signatures "until the wheels fall off," a spokesperson told ABC News. "At the end of the day, your politics is important but it is not worth our souls," he said.

Rep. Steve Womack says there was "significant opposition" to Emmer during roll call vote

“We already had upwards of 20 who said they could not support Tom Emmer,” he said. “We are again back to where we started.” Nehls himself voted present when his name was called, he told reporters. "I don't defend the performance of the speaker, I don't defend the actions that have been taken," Good told reporters after the Friday vote. "However, that doesn't mean that I support what I would consider to be not the most prudent action right now. We're six months before an election, we have a two-three vote margin." Trump is the likely GOP presidential nominee, is very popular among the GOP base but still deeply unpopular among swing voters. “These incumbents are going to have to run under the banner of Trump for president,” Fleischman said.

House Republicans Are Fighting To Restore American Energy Dominance

Many months after opening an inquiry oddly based on nothing more than to-be-determined charges, Republicans have no hard evidence of an impeachable offense by the president. Voters who are paying very close attention may recall that the GOP refused to empower McHenry to get business done while the speakership race continues. Garcia is the only one of the five Californians in question who voted against certifying some election results. The proposal to grant him more power, which would probably need buy-in from Democrats, fell flat Thursday when it became clear Republicans were overwhelmingly against it, leaving the lower chamber foundering as it’s set to enter its fourth week without a permanent leader. McCarthy officially launched his campaign for House speaker last week, telling his Republican colleagues that he would be a "listener" and strive to "build consensus from the bottom-up rather than commanding the agenda from the top-down."

The loss of McCarthy from upper leadership could have especially dire consequences for California’s state Republican party, which has long relied on him to keep money coming into the Golden State, said Mike Madrid, an anti-Trump Republican consultant who’s become a critic of the party. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster is the first of those challenges. McCarthy’s fundraising allies have said they will work with Johnson to ensure the money continues to pour into Republicans’ coffers. But Johnson is relatively unproven as a fundraiser, and McCarthy, who pulled in more than $500 million last election cycle, rose to the top of his party in part because of his ability to rake in dough. House Republicans have all but folded the Big Top on the Biden impeachment circus.

As a result, Johnson and his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have seen several rules fail on the floor, largely over objections from the right flank of the party. Ahead of the vote, Democratic leaders had not committed to supporting the rule, as text was not yet available. But they said they were open to the possibility and they were committed to getting foreign aid passed.

Johnson makes his long-awaited move on Ukraine as House plans to vote on separate aid packages - CNN

Johnson makes his long-awaited move on Ukraine as House plans to vote on separate aid packages.

Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

“I think it’s real important that we go to the floor with 217 votes, 218 votes,” Jordan told CNN. When pressed on whether the eight rebels who voted last week to oust McCarthy understand the urgency, McCaul said if the attacks against Israel don't "wake up members of my conference, then I don’t know what else will." “I would prefer to have that vote within the family before we go to the floor and not have a repeat of the 15 ballots," the Texas Republican said, referring to the protracted floor fight in January that ended with Kevin McCarthy winning the gavel. "I think that just projects weakness. Another Republican state representative, Jacqueline Parker, decried the GOP votes for repeal, calling abortion "akin to slavery."

Kevin McCarthy wins GOP nomination for House speaker

Rep. Bob Good, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, said that although he disagrees with Johnson, he doesn't think it's in Republicans' interest to remove him as speaker. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed the motion to vacate resolution nearly a month ago, in part over disputes with the speaker on how he handled a $1.2 trillion appropriations package. “Californians demand relief from the surging cost of living, gas prices and violent crime fueled by extreme left-wing policies in D.C. And Sacramento,” Ben Petersen, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.

It’s also not clear whether a future speaker —knowing the bitter divide over the Ukraine issue — would be willing to move a joint package on the House floor. The White House has yet to formalize a request for additional aid to Israel — it is expediting weapons already purchased first — but briefers on a call with lawmakers Sunday night underscored that there would be an eventual need as Israel burns through munitions. Rep. Steve Womack, a senior GOP appropriator, likened the conference to a “scattergram” as Republicans continue to debate the way forward.

House GOP manufactures new fight after Biden impeachment fails - Daily Kos

House GOP manufactures new fight after Biden impeachment fails.

Posted: Fri, 26 Apr 2024 17:00:05 GMT [source]

Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas, who is backing Rep. Steve Scalise as speaker, said the world is looking at the House with concern, adding that the crisis in Israel has put more pressure on lawmakers to unite. And Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, one of the hardliners who voted to oust McCarthy, defended himself against those who have called for kicking the eight off committees. Rep. Kevin McCarthy has so far not arrived at the House Republican conference meeting Monday night, as some members urge him to return to the top role. Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry is limited to help Israel in the midst of war — meaning the House can’t pass any legislation until a new speaker is chosen.

First elected to the House in 2006, McCarthy has worked his way up the ranks of Republican leadership, serving a majority whip and majority leader under former House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan. He took over as the top Republican in the lower chamber in 2019, when Democrats gained the House majority. "The rules are the rules, and practice and custom in our conference has always been make your case, get a majority of the majority, become the nominee. ... That's the way it should be. And I would hope that's the way it will be this week," Womack said.

Duarte and Garcia’s races are considered “toss-ups,” Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, noted on Friday. Cook rates Valadao and Steel’s races as leaning Republican, and Kim’s as likely to go Republican. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan ended his bid to lead the lower chamber Friday after facing stiff opposition from moderates and other lawmakers in key districts. McCarthy fended off an 11th-hour challenge for the nomination from Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who was involved in efforts both within Congress and at the state level to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Biggs announced his bid Monday night, telling Newsmax in an interview that "we have a new paradigm here, and I think the country wants a different direction from the House of Representatives." - Speaker McCarthy after being sworn in as the 55th Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“Anyone who endorses Jordan and any member who votes for him is affirmatively voting for a coup plotter, an election denier and a foe of American democracy,” the ad said. House Republicans have struggled to pick a leader since eight Republicans on Oct. 3 led a vote, joined by Democrats, to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield from the speaker’s chair. The congressman also said that Ukraine and Israel aid must be weighed by Congress in two separate votes, rather than being linked. "No," Norman responded when asked by Hunt if he feels pressure to select a speaker today. He argued the position is too important to rush and that the American people are more concerned about issues like gas prices and the border, while the speaker's battle isn't their "highest concern." "All these votes go into the equation, but Tom is an honest man," the South Carolina Republican said when pressed about Emmer's vote to certify the 2020 election.

The looming fight over tying military aid for Israel and Ukraine together is the latest in a series of complicated questions a new speaker will have to navigate as the narrow Republican majority grapples with its future. “I do think the McCarthy supporters would probably rally behind one or the other two if it meant unity within the conference for a speaker,” he added. McCaul added that enemies can take advantage of dysfunction and urged the conference to work behind the scenes to pick a speaker before going to the floor.

McCarthy was tapped as the nominee in an internal meeting of the Republican conference by a secret-ballot vote of 188 to 31, multiple sources in the meeting confirmed to CBS News. House Republicans are no closer to coalescing around a speaker nominee and a path forward as they debate potential rules changes and figure out who is best positioned to lead their conference, according to indications from lawmakers leaving a closed-door meeting Monday night. Jordan, who voted not to certify many election results, “was a significant player in President Trump’s efforts” to stay in power, the House Jan. 6 committee noted in its final report on Trump supporters’ 2021 attack on the U.S. “I have worked in good faith to be part of the solution and support our conference’s nominees, but it’s clear no candidate has the votes to be Speaker at this time,” she told The Times in a statement Friday. Republicans have proven unable to secure a simple majority to elect a speaker who can call floor votes on critical legislation, including bills to respond to the conflicts engulfing Israel and Ukraine and to avert a government shutdown by mid-November. South Carolina Republican Rep. Ralph Norman told CNN's Kasie Hunt that he voted for fellow Freedom Caucus member Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida for speaker three times this morning but did not rule out supporting GOP Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota in the future.