OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump issued an urgent message Wednesday morning and urged House Republicans to vote for Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker after the party failed to pick a leader on its first day in control of the chamber.
“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA, THE ONLY SPEAKER IN U.S. HISTORY TO HAVE LOST THE ’HOUSE’ TWICE!,” the former president said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!” Trump added.
Trump added in another post: “TAKE THE VICTORY AND RUN!!!”
Trump fully backs McCarthy's speaker bid, posts 'VOTE FOR KEVIN' https://t.co/Lxlwe41zwA pic.twitter.com/jEamgiuQql
— New York Post (@nypost) January 4, 2023
McCarthy revealed on Tuesday night that he spoke to Trump and that the 45th president still supported him to be the speaker of the House.
“Trump has already reiterated his support; I talked to him tonight,” McCarthy told reporters.
Asked if Trump wanted him to keep pursuing the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy said, “Oh, yeah.”
“He thinks it’s better that all the Republicans get together and solve this, it doesn’t look good for Republicans, but we want to be able to solve it where we’re stronger in the long run,” he said. “Where what we went through today in the end becomes a positive that we’re actually focused, united.”
Trump previously warned against House Republicans playing games with the Speaker race.
“I like him,” Trump said of McCarthy back in December. “I think it’s a very dangerous game that’s being played. It’s a very dangerous game. Some bad things could happen. Look, we had Boehner and he was a strange person but we ended up with Paul Ryan who was ten times worse. Paul Ryan was an incompetent speaker. I think he goes down as the worst speaker in history. We took [out] Boehner—and a group of people, some of whom are the same, and they’re very good friends of mine. All those people are very good friends of mine.”
“Look, I think this: Kevin has worked very hard,” Trump continued. “He is just—it’s been exhausting. If you think, he’s been all over. I think he deserves the shot. Hopefully he’s going to be very strong and going to be very good and he’s going to do what everybody wants.”
At a meeting with Republican members following the first failed vote on Tuesday, McCarthy laid out his case as to why he should be Speaker, essentially explaining that he had earned the position.
But that didn’t sit well with some members, including Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who reportedly muttered, “this is bullsh*t” when McCarthy was trying to unify the party.
Fox News notes further:
The comment, which a Boebert spokesperson told Fox News Digital was not yelled or said into a microphone, came Tuesday morning as McCarthy, R-Calif., delivered a speech aimed to unite his party ahead of the leadership vote. McCarthy faces opposition for speaker from Boebert, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and members of the House Freedom Caucus, who claim he has not proven to be worthy to be speaker of the new Republican majority.
Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said the House Republican meeting was “hostile,” and that McCarthy’s attempt to persuade hard-line Republicans to vote for him fell flat.
“The meeting was very hostile and I don’t think it did anything to persuade those who are inclined to vote against Kevin McCarthy,” Good told Fox News.
— pam key (@pamkeyNEN) January 3, 2023
Good is one of five Republicans who have said they cannot vote for McCarthy; the Californian needs 218 votes to become Speaker. He’s got 85 percent of the caucus, nearly of whom have said they won’t vote for anyone else. And to that point, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), whom the Freedom Caucus members have put forth, has said he doesn’t want the job and is supporting McCarthy, according to reports.
“In his 14 years in Republican Leadership, McCarthy has repeatedly failed to demonstrate any desire to meaningfully change the status quo in Washington,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania said in a statement released Tuesday morning. “Despite our deep reservations, we have continued to work in earnest to find a path forward with McCarthy, knowing that this crucial moment would come.”
The caucus has laid out a plan to divide leadership roles among various GOP factions essentially, former Rep. Trey Gowdy, now a Fox News host, explained Tuesday evening on the program. But, the former South Carolina Republican lawmaker said, McCarthy has wisely rejected it because it would hamper his ability to guide the party’s agenda as he will be forced to negotiate with the Democrat-controlled Senate and Democratic President Joe Biden.
“If Leader McCarthy is willing to publicly state that he accepts the deal to become Speaker, then we are absolutely willing to continue to negotiate in good faith,” Perry told Fox News.
