Kevin McCarthy.(Photo by Chip Somodevilla)
The protracted saga surrounding the election of the Speaker of the House among Republicans has finally drawn to a close, with House lawmakers bestowing the mantle upon Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, making him the 56th Speaker of the House on a Wednesday.
However, in the course of this tumultuous journey, GOP presidential hopefuls did not hold back in their candid assessments of the self-inflicted chaos gripping Capitol Hill.
Senator Tim Scott, with a touch of humor, beseeched, “Let us pray for the House,” during a town hall in Indianola, Iowa. He added, to the amusement of the crowd, “Please stop embarrassing the party, in Jesus’ name, amen.”
But Scott’s humor was tinged with concern as he continued to commend the Democrats and express disappointment in his own party, remarking, “The Democrats, and I mean this sincerely, they might not like each other, but a couple of days a year, on Election Day, they always vote in lockstep.” Scott drew an analogy, highlighting the unity of Democrats, stating, “The Democrats are like a basketball team. They play together. Republicans, we’re more like a golf team or a track team. Everybody seems to be on their own race.”
Senator Scott’s sentiments found resonance with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who, during a town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, deemed the situation “embarrassing,” lamenting the inability of the Republican Party to make a decisive choice for the speakership. In a straightforward manner, he implored, “We can’t get out of our own way… just pick someone. I don’t care, I quite frankly don’t care if they pick you.”
The exasperation was evident as Christie suggested that someone from the audience should take matters into their own hands and journey to Washington, offering themselves as an alternative candidate for the position of Speaker of the House.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley did not shield her fellow Republicans when queried about the speakership situation during a town hall in Sheffield, Iowa. She asserted, “I am not going to cover up for any of them.” Her concern extended to the timing of Congress members’ departure for the weekend while the speaker position remained vacant, questioning why they continued to receive their salaries under such circumstances.
In a vivid metaphor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described Republicans on Capitol Hill as “chickens with their heads cut off.” Speaking in Epping, New Hampshire, he voiced his dissatisfaction, declaring, “They’re not delivering results that our voters wanted.”
Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence did not hold back in his criticism of the eight Republicans who initially ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, branding them the “chaos caucus.” He urged members of the conference to have a frank conversation with those who seemed to be sowing discord within the party.
While Pence alluded to the rebellious faction as behaving like children, he implored the “adults in the room” to restore order and unity.
In contrast, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy looked beyond the individual candidates vying for the speakership. He stressed the need to address foundational issues and the underlying dysfunction, emphasizing that it was not merely a matter of who would rise to the position of Speaker.
As the tumultuous process neared its end, former President Donald Trump, in a somewhat surprising move, added his voice to the mix. Having previously supported Rep. Jim Jordan for the speakership, and seeing his candidate fail to secure the position in multiple floor votes, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to criticize Rep. Tom Emmer, referring to him as a “globalist RINO” (Republican in Name Only) and a “tragic mistake.”
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