OPINION
Republican Party can’t decide on House Speaker. What does this mean?
Jan 3, 2023, 9:30 PM | Updated: Feb 23, 2023, 1:08 pm
FILE: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) answers questions during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — After three votes, the Republican Party failed to elect a Speaker of the House on Tuesday.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) appears to be the odds-on favorite, but was unable earn enough votes to secure the position.
The former chairman of the Utah Republican Party Derek Brown joined Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News to explain what this means.
Caplan asks Brown what is going to happen next?
“Well, no one knows right now,” Brown said. “McCarthy has said he’s not going anywhere. He has vowed to stay.”
Brown said that when something like this happens, there’s a search for a consensus candidate. A candidate that can bring the party together.
“What’s interesting this time is that process usually takes place behind closed doors right now,” Brown said. “We’re seeing it in the public stage.”
Brown says he has been in close contact with a few friends in Washington, D.C. who are trying to figure out what this all means.
Utah and the House Speaker
Utah’s four congressmen voted for McCarthy. Caplan asks what it would take for them to change their vote.
“I don’t think any of them will,” Brown said. “I think they’re all securely there.”
“What does this mean to the people who don’t follow the ins and outs of politics,” Caplan asked. “How does this change anything?”
“Well, I think what you’ve got is,” Brown said. “You know, the average person wants D.C., to fix problems and focus on real issues that are affecting us right now, inflation stuff like that. And instead, you know they’re kind of watching this circus unfold.”
Caplan asks if the party will be able to come together and legislate effectively.
“They can and they will,” Brown said. “I think that parties are really good at recovering from these kinds or experience.”
Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News can be heard on weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m.
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