On Sunday, nine House Republicans wrote an open letter opposing the election of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as the next speaker of the House, The Daily Wire reports.
McCarthy, the current House Minority Leader from California, needs at least 218 votes to secure the position, but the Republican party currently only holds 222 seats.
Defections from just five members could prevent McCarthy from becoming speaker.
The letter was signed by Representatives Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Chip Roy of Texas, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Harris of Maryland, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia, as well as Representative-elects Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Eli Crane of Arizona.
The letter stated, “Mr. McCarthy’s title, ‘Restoring the People’s House and Ending Business as Usual,’ is a welcome and telling admission of the longstanding and deep dysfunction of the House of Representatives and statement of aspiration to begin to set it right in the 118th Congress.”
However, the representatives went on to say, “At this stage, it cannot be a surprise that expressions of vague hopes reflected in far too many of the crucial points still under debate are insufficient…This is especially true with respect to Mr. McCarthy’s candidacy for speaker because the times call for radical departure from the status quo — not a continuation of past, and ongoing, Republican failures.”
The letter also pointed out that McCarthy, who has been a part of House Republican leadership for 14 years, “bears squarely the burden to correct the dysfunction he now explicitly admits across that long tenure.”
It also stated that some members of the Republican conference have said they would reject even the progress made so far on rules and structural changes if McCarthy does not have universal support.
