Boebert Does Not Back Down as Hannity Presses Her on Opposition to McCarthy Becoming Speaker
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado did not back down when pressed repeatedly by Fox News host Sean Hannity about her opposition to Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California becoming House speaker.
Hannity opened the segment Wednesday night by recounting that Boebert has called on former President Donald Trump to intervene and tell McCarthy that he does not have the votes to be speaker and should withdraw his name.
“Let me turn the tables, congresswoman,” Hannity said. “Kevin McCarthy has 202, [203] votes. Your side has 20. So if I’m going to use your words and your methodology and your math, isn’t it time for you to pack it in?”
Boebert responded by saying that the GOP House members who support their stand are actually more than those who have voted against McCarthy.
“There are more for us than are against us,” she said.
A 12th vote for speaker conducted Friday netted McCarthy 213 votes. If all the House members are present, he needs 218 votes to be elected speaker.
Boebert argued that McCarthy is actually at fault for the current impasse.
“We’ve been trying to work this out in private … for months, but Kevin McCarthy didn’t even want to listen to us until his disappointing midterms,” she said. “We all want a unified party. But this isn’t chaos. It’s a functioning constitutional republic.”
Hannity interjected, saying dismissively, “OK, I like the cliche.”
Boebert continued, “When everything is said and done, House Republicans will be stronger and better prepared to lead than we ever have before. I believe this is what our Founding Fathers intended.”
Hannity contended that all she and those who oppose McCarty are proving is that “20 people don’t want Kevin McCarthy at this time.” Boebert shot back that they’re proving there are many options besides McCarthy.
On Thursday, she voted for Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest GOP caucus in the House.
In round 8 of voting, Rep. Lauren Boebert has now changed her House Speaker vote in favor of Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma pic.twitter.com/SLkABSCR8d
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 5, 2023
The lawmaker told Hannity that those who voted against McCarthy are pushing for a fundamental change in how business is done in Washington.
“It takes the right tools and the right leadership to do that,” Boebert said.
Hannity cited McCarthy’s support for the Commitment to America, which includes promises to address border security, promote energy independence, reduce federal spending, and exercise vigorous congressional oversight of the Biden administration.
“We’re going to get all of that with the right speaker, and it’s not going to be Kevin McCarthy,” Boebert responded.
She said that McCarthy would not commit to bringing a vote to the floor on term limits, a border plan offered by the GOP Texas delegation, and a balanced budget amendment.
“Imagine a Congress that stops spending money that we don’t have. We are going to get this right,” Boebert said.
Boebert also pointed out that McCarthy would not agree to bring back a rule that allows a single House member to offer a motion to vacate, i.e., force a vote to remove the speaker.
The Coloradan said that rule had been in place for most of the nation’s history, but was taken away by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Hannity responded that McCarthy met Boebert’s side partway, agreeing to five members being able to bring the motion. That was not good enough, she said.
Boebert encouraged people not to fret about the delay in choosing a speaker.
“It’s OK. The government isn’t spending money, sending it to Ukraine, so the American taxpayers are certainly winning,” she said.
“I believe that history will show that I’m on the right side of this,” Boebert added. “I am not going to support Kevin McCarthy. If I am the last person standing … I will not.”
In November, the Freedom Caucus, of which Boebert is a member, published a document with proposed rule changes for the 118th Congress.
Some of the key proposals are aimed at ending the large omnibus spending bills like the $1.7 trillion one passed by Congress last month.
A version of this article originally appeared on Patriot Project.
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