Representative James Comer (R-KY) said during an interview with Fox Business Channel’s “Kudlow" that he was getting frustrated with his fellow Republicans for failing to elect a new House Speaker.
Three weeks after Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was removed from his position as Speaker of the House, Republicans have yet to agree on a replacement and there is no end in sight.
Multiple Republicans have entered their names to be the next Speaker but so far none of them have been able to garner the necessary votes.
Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) was too much like McCarthy and couldn't win the firebrands that had just deposed McCarthy for being a centrist who was cutting deals with Democrats and undermining the Party.
Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) was rejected for being too conservative by the establishment Republicans, some of whom sought revenge for McCarthy's removal.
The divisions in the Republican Party were always there, but things have never been this out in the open.
The Party is engaged in an open civil war and it isn't without consequences as far as Comer is concerned. Comer has been hard at work investigating the Biden family business and that investigation is being disrupted by the chaos in the House.
Anchor Larry Kudlow opened the interview with Comer by asking, “I need a Republican speaker of the House, Mr. Chairman so you can go back to work and everyone else can go back to work. What’s happening?"
Comer responded by saying, "We’ve wasted three weeks. And, you know, this was a dumb move by those eight members of Congress. Many of them are on my committee. I like, you know, at least six of the eight. But at the end of the day, they had no plan. They had no plan, and Larry, this could stretch out another two or three weeks. And it’s limited the ability of committees, not only to meet, but my committee, to do subpoenas and things like that."
Comer finished by saying, "So, this isn’t being productive. We got started a month late with subpoena power. I didn’t get subpoena power ’til basically February the 1st because we went through all of this in January with the speaker’s race. So, this is unfortunate and you know, I’m ashamed that we’re in this position. Hopefully, we’ll find someone that can get 217 votes soon."
Unfortunately, it isn't looking like there will be a resolution to this issue anytime soon. Especially with the news that Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN), a close ally of McCarthy, is the latest nominee.
The main reason McCarthy was removed was because of his broken promises and betrayal of voters. The Republicans who removed him did so to hold him accountable and to send a message that the political gamesmanship would no longer be tolerated.
Emmer is yet another Republican that voters cannot trust to hold the line and force change in Washington D.C.
In many ways, Republicans like Emmer and McCarthy are as much a part of the swamp as any Democrat. So it is safe to say that there is a good chance Emmer will be rejected and the fight for a new speaker will continue to drag on.
