Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wouldn’t rule out jumping into the speakership race when asked by CNN’s Manu Raju if he envisions any scenario in which he would be a candidate if Scalise or Jordan can’t get the votes.
“I’m gonna allow the conference to do their work,” McCarthy said.
“That’s a decision by the conference. I’ll allow the conference to make whatever decision. Whether I’m speaker or not, I’m a member of this body,” he added.
“I’ll let the conference see who unites them,” McCarthy said, not endorsing Jordan or Scalise for speaker at this point.
McCarthy pointed out he has 96% support of his party. “Unfortunately, the House can do nothing without a speaker. I could be upset with eight but I could be upset with every single Democrat as well. They both made the same decision, a political decision instead of putting America first and so you have to finish the speaker.”
He added, “Can you imagine if we were sitting here listening to Gaetz and Mace during a shutdown?,” slamming the Republican members that sent the House into chaos after ousting the speaker.
He also pushed for Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry to be given the power to take action in the absence of a speaker. “I think at a moment in time, our conference needs to decide who can lead – if not, we shouldn’t sit back,” he said.