Rep. Kevin McCarthy said Monday that he would take back his speakership if the GOP conference asks him to return after voting to remove him last week.
“Look, the conference has to make that decision. I’m still a member. I’m going to continue to fight and act,” Mr. McCarthy told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday when asked if he would jump back if the House Republican Conference can’t agree on a replacement.
“Whatever the conference wants, I will do it,” he said. “I think we need to be strong. I think we need to be united.”
Last week, eight Republicans joined the House Democrats in a vote to oust Mr. McCarthy from his position. The GOP rebels said Mr. McCarthy failed to fight for conservative priorities, especially on spending, and made too many deals with Democrats.
Mr. McCarthy told reporters after the vote that he would not run for speaker again. “I’ll have the conference pick somebody else,” he said.
The Republicans who voted him out, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, were not happy with how the former speaker handled the potential government shutdown. Republicans failed to pass a conservative stopgap measure, prompting Mr. McCarthy to pass a clean stopgap bill that didn’t include any additional Ukraine funding or border security measures.
They accused him of making secret deals with the Democrats to pass Ukraine aid, which is opposed by a large faction of Republicans.
Mr. McCarthy said the rebels created the crisis.
“They’re the ones that stopped appropriations bills from going forward. They’re the ones who voted against a continuing resolution that secured our border and cut spending,” he said. “They’re the ones who granted a government shutdown.”
He defended his decision to avert a government shutdown by alluding to the attack on Israel.
“We wouldn’t be paying our troops while we’re putting out a carrier strike fighter there — 30,000 American men and women in our armed services in the Middle East wouldn’t be being paid right now? I mean, what weakness would we be at,” Mr. McCarthy said.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan are vying to be the next speaker. House Republicans are set to have a candidate forum Tuesday followed by a conference vote on Wednesday. Republicans don’t want to move forward with a floor vote for speaker until they have a candidate with enough GOP votes to win the position.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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