One courageous conservative congressional Republicans is calling out the approach preferred by some — maybe most — House Republicans in selecting the next Speaker of the House.
Representative Eli Crane discussed the desire among some to keep the debate and votes for Speaker private.
Crane said Kevin McCarthy never received 218 votes in conference for Speaker earlier this year. Crane said the lobbyists and the establishment do not want the American people to see which representatives are voting which way for Speaker.
“It goes in line and with the theme of trying to keep you in the dark. They don’t want to be accountable or their votes. It’s exactly why they push omnibuses and CRs,” Crane said. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve been fighting so hard to restore the House to regular order and transparency. If you can’t be transparent about your vote for a CR or an omnibus and, you know, all the amendments within it, or the appropriations bills, or who you want to be Speaker, that’s a problem when we’re there to represent the people in our districts and the people of this country.”
Eli Crane On SECRET VOTE For Speaker “They Don’t Want To Be Accountable For Their Vote” @RepEliCrane pic.twitter.com/kG6SckWs6e
— Grace Chong 🇺🇸 (@gc22gc) October 7, 2023
Many House Republicans have reacted extremely defensive to the idea of a public debate or public vote for Speaker in the conference. Instead, they say it all needs to be handled privately within the conference.
This isn’t how public policy and public positions should be decided — not in supposed representative government. It is one more way to provide cover for establishment Republicans.
For the record, Representatives Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks have publicly supported Steve Scalise. Representatives Randy Feenstra and Zach Nunn have not said if they will support the conservative Jim Jordan or the establishment, more moderate pick of Scalise.
