The country wants Republicans in Congress to get their act together. A recent survey published by USA Today reveals that 67 percent of Americans think that the House should elect a speaker as soon as possible. With Biden’s foreign policy teetering on the edge of chaos and war in the Middle East and Ukraine continue, the public has grown tired of the showboating happening in Congress as a government shutdown looms next month.
“We got to have a speaker, (but) I don’t think we’re going to have anybody soon,” said George Ramge, 72, of San Diego, a building contractor and political independent. “There’s a lot of Hollywood politicians out there getting their time on TV, and I don’t think they’re really serving the people’s purpose.”
“They need to be functioning, and that’s the only way they’re going to function,” said Carl Hickey, 85, of Monkton, Maryland, a retired Methodist minister and a Democrat, said in a follow-up interview after being called in the poll.
Roughly 25 percent of those who responded to the poll said they thought the Speaker of the House did not really matter and that choosing one would not make a difference in whether or not the government continues to waste our money.
“It’s not like they do anything anyways,” said Dustin Gibbons, 34, a home warranty manager from Queen Creek, Arizona, and a Republican, told USA Today. “I don’t think that a speaker in the House is going to do anything other than, you know, just keep kicking that ball along.”
On Sunday. House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik announced that nine candidates have thrown their hat in the ring for Speaker following the collapse of Jim Jordan’s bid last week.
The Ohio congressman, a conservative favorite, had been accused of selling out his base in an attempt to grab the brass ring.
NBC News reported that “the GOP candidate forum is set for 6:30 p.m. ET Monday. Then, an internal conference vote will occur 9 a.m. Tuesday. Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has said his intention is to move to a floor vote ‘as soon as Tuesday.’
After his defeat on the House floor for a third time last week, Jordan’s speakership bid fell apart Friday after he lost a vote of confidence at a closed-door meeting of Republicans.
The internal, secret-ballot vote was 86 Republicans for Jordan and 112 saying they wanted to move on from him and go with someone else, lawmakers said as they left the meeting.”
Last month, with the help of a handful of Republicans who joined Democrats, the House voted 216 to 210 to remove California Republican Kevin McCarthy from his position as Speaker of the House speaker. The handful of Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus who broke ranks, such a Matt Gaetz and Andy Biggs, claimed they made the historic move because McCarthy could not be trusted after he worked with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown in September.
As the House heads into week four without a Speaker, the House Freedom Caucus released a statement calling on Republicans to stay in Washington until a new leader is chosen.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus wrote that the GOP are “starting at ground zero after Jim Jordan, arguably one of the most popular Republicans in the country, was rejected by House Republicans.
Currently, the House Republican Conference does not plan to convene for a candidate forum until Monday evening, and there will likely be no floor vote until Tuesday at the earliest. Intentional and unnecessary delays must end. It serves only the lobbyists of the swamp and defenders of the status quo to continue to drag out this process. The Speaker Pro Tempore and Republican leadership must keep Republicans in Washington as long as it takes and proceed with electing the new Speaker of the House without delay,” the press release argued.
The Daily Caller reported that nine candidates for Speaker as House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Gary Palmer of Alabama, House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan and Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania.
