Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Newsmax on Wednesday that he’s “not sure” that the House will elect a new speaker by the end of the day, but said he’s sure it will happen “in short order.”
He added, “I don’t think anybody right now, at this moment, has [the] 217 votes” needed to become speaker.
“I think after the first ballot we’ll have a better sense of where people are and … what conversations need to occur.”
When asked during “Wake Up America” if anyone might nominate former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for the post, Lawler said, “I don’t think he’ll be nominated, but I suspect there will be members that vote for him.”
The congressman later urged Republicans to come to a consensus and unite behind a single candidate in order to quickly replace McCarthy, who he said should not have been ousted in the first place.
Lawler said, “We’re going to have to come together. I believe very strongly that it was a mistake to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker last week, especially mid-term and without justification or cause.”
He later said, “We need to get back to the work of the American people. There are a lot of challenges here domestically, from spending to our border. And obviously internationally with Israel and Ukraine and China. So a lot to do and … the people elected us to serve as a check and balance on this administration.”
Lawler added that GOP voters would “like us to serve as a House Republican majority. We can't have eight folks teaming up with 208 Democrats to remove our Republican speaker, so there's a lot of work just to nail it down.”
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.