Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) should be next in line to be appointed Speaker of the House when the modern Congress convenes in January, but there are still plenty of complaints from the more conservative wings of the Republican Party. The GOP narrowly managed to take back the House after a disastrous 2022 midterm season. The Republican majority is so razor-thin that if people wanted to fool around, yes – a Democrat could preside over the House, which would be a humiliating episode in the annals of the GOP. One of the people causing confusion is Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who hopes Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) will change his mind and decide to run for the leadership position (via Hill):
All I want for Christmas is @Jim_Jordan realize he should be Speaker of the House!
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 24, 2022
Gaetz, who has repeatedly spoken out against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) taking over the Speaker’s gavel, posted another tweet on Sunday asking his followers to encourage Jordan to run for the top House seat.
The Florida lawmaker has previously supported Jordan in his bid for the job, telling Fox News in August that Jordan was the “hardest worker” and “most talented member” of his more conservative group.
Jordan, who will be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee when the GOP takes the majority next month, has not announced plans to run for the leadership position.
The Ohio Republican endorsed McCarthy for House speaker and expressed concerns this month that Republicans plotting against the minority leader could work with Democrats to elect another leader.
McCarthy won the House Republican Conference vote last month, but must secure his position on the ballot when the next Congress forms in January.
It’s doubtful that will happen, but it highlights the dismay of some very vocal House Republicans about their feelings about McCarthy taking up the gavel. However, similar feelings were felt towards John Boehner when his speaker was supposedly in trouble – this was never the case. Before the vote, everyone with a grudge is whining, and I hope those who aren’t large McCarthy fans will let it out and do what has always been done before: vote for the Republican most likely to take the job. That person, for better or worse, is Mr. McCarthy.
