How a House Freedom Caucus is going to be voted for: Kevin McCarthy’s ouster and the era of the party unity pledge
Republicans are trying to get more votes. And there are nine representatives vying for the gig: Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Austin Scott of Georgia and Pete Sessions of Texas.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker earlier this month, following an uprising by far-right members of his own party. The House was left without a replacement, cutting the lower chamber into pieces.
Steve Scalise beat Mr. Jordan in the Republican conference vote and Mr. Jordan got 45% of the conference.
In yet another secret ballot test, 152 members indicated they would vote for Mr. Jordan for speaker on the floor, while 55 said they would vote against him. About 70% of Republicans are that way.
A small group of hardline Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy from the position of leader of the House, making the chamber powerless to conduct business. The Nebraska Democrat has introduced a “unity pledge.” He hopes Republicans will sign the two-paragraph pledge and commit to supporting whoever the party nominates this a time.
Until a few weeks ago, no member of the House Freedom Caucus had ever been close to becoming House speaker. It seems like it might be a matter of when and not if right-wing speakership will become a thing.
A majority party is only a majority party when it votes as a majority, Flood told Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep on Monday. He said generations of Republicans and Democrats have chosen a speaker amongst themselves and then voted in unison on the floor to elect that speaker.
Flood said that while most of us were going to vote for the speaker, some had not done so since McCarthy’s campaign began in January.
Still, he says he wants to see who can bring people to the table — which he says demonstrates leadership at an especially critical time, with the government just three weeks away from potentially shutting down.
“In a month we’re going to expect whoever the speaker is to deliver votes for the National Defense Authorization Act or the Farm Bill,” Flood explained. If you want to be hired for this job, you have to be able to move people.
The Way Forward: How Emmer and Flood have United in a Republican Congressional Causal Scenario and their Expectations for the Future
Emmer was once seen as a conservative firebrand, earning endorsements from the likes of former Alaska. Gov. Sarah Palin and Tea Party groups in his bid for governor and Congress.
As a member of the House, he has taken a more pragmatic approach. According to NPR, he has earned goodwill by leading the National Republican Congressional Committee and has risen through the leadership ranks by building relationships, including with Democratic colleagues.
Emmer didn’t vote to overturn the election in 2020, nor has he endorsed the former president in the 2024 primary — meaning Trump’s allies don’t trust him.
Pragmatists in the party are looking to elect a leader to return to business, including funding the government and supporting Israel and (to some extent) Ukraine. Montanaro says that the hardline Republicans seem to welcome the idea of a shutdown and the fight over the future of the GOP.
Flood acknowledges the House GOP has “a lot of problems.” But he said it was able to unite behind a speaker in January and he believes it can do so again.