Rep. Patrick McHenry, who now temporarily wields the gavel as speaker pro tempore, announced during a meeting with fellow GOP lawmakers on Tuesday that the House
Republican conference will hold a candidates' forum and try to elect a new speaker next week, reported CBS News. The House stands in recess to allow the Republican conference and Democratic caucus to "meet and discuss the path forward," McHenry announced.
While it's unclear if a candidate can garner enough support from the fractured Republican conference to claim the gavel, some names have emerged as the possible successor to McCarthy, who said he will not run again. The full House votes on the speaker, and Democrats in the minority will almost certainly oppose any Republican candidate unanimously, meaning it will likely be up to the Republicans to find consensus on their own.
So, who should it be, or who is it going to be?
OK, I admit to being more than a little biased in the matter of who should be the next Speaker of the House, but how about my Congressman Rep. Byron Donalds?
I'm slightly acquainted with Mr. Donalds and his wife Erika. Several years ago, we endorsed her for her successful campaign for the Collier County, Florida, school board and we later endorsed him for his successful run for Congress.
They are both stalwart, unabashed conservatives, and that’s important, because if you are going to take on the Swamp and stand for conservative principles against the DC Uniparty you need a support system that is 100% behind the mission. Trust me, it’s not a job you and your family can be only halfway committed to.
Mr. Donalds hasn’t made any announcements about his intentions, but Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has put his hat in the ring, as has House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
Jim Jordan is a good man, but this might be the third time he has come to the gate for the Speaker’s race, and every time he’s backed-off. The last Speaker’s race he threw his early support to Kevin McCarthy, and we all know how well that has turned out.
We here at CHQ have not been Steve Scalise fans, ever.
Here’s a quick quote from an open letter CHQ Chairman Richard A Viguerie wrote to Scalise back in 2018:
Let me share with you a poll that explains why House Republicans are behind in the polls and why grassroots conservative voters like me aren’t donating to their campaigns: they haven’t kept their promises.
And they aren’t trusted to do so in the future.
In the recent Ear to the Ground poll, in which CHQ is a partner, only 6 percent of those polled trusted Capitol Hill Republicans to keep their promises.
President Trump was trusted by 31 percent to keep his promises, and the Democrats were trusted by 27 percent to keep theirs, beating Republicans by almost 4 to 1.
By the way, that same poll found that 60 percent of voters would like a new person to represent them in Congress.
Scalise will be a non-starter for most conservatives, he’s part of the “don’t keep your promises” problem.
Jordan and some of the others are good guys, but if you want change then you need someone who is not part of DC’s Conservatism, Inc. and who has not already made accommodations with the Swamp.
And Byron Donalds fills that bill in a way none of the other names being floated do.
Rep. Donalds has also been right on the issues that grassroots movement conservatives care about.
"Look, I'm gonna be honest. We did not get anything out of this continued resolution," Donalds told Shannon Bream. "The border is still unsecured in our country. Why is that? That's because Joe Biden and the Democrats got their way. The Democrat members are very happy with what they got. I think this is a terrible deal for the American people."
"Cutting this government's spending down must happen. Inflation is still running rampant. That's not MAGA Republican, that's common sense. Having a secure border – that's not MAGA Republican, that's common sense," he added.
Rep. Donalds also had a blunt message for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his visit to Capitol Hill to seek more money from Congress — "And to be blunt, we're running a $2 trillion deficit. Any money we give to Ukraine we're borrowing from our future," Donalds said. "Those are the facts."
Donalds, a 44-year-old former businessman and state representative in Florida, is seen in the party as a rising star. A fiery conservative, he has been outspoken about his anti-abortion views and support for gun rights.
Rep. Chip Roy once described Byron Donalds this way, “We do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character… Byron Donalds is a good man, raised by a single mom, moved past diversity, became a Christian man at the age of 21, and has devoted his life to advancing the cause for his family and this country. And he has done it admirably.”
Rep. Byron Donalds is not part of the Swamp, as is Steve Scalise, and he’s never made compromises with the Swamp, as has Jim Jordan, otherwise good man that he is.
The U.S. House of Representatives runs on Mafia Rules – if you kill the Don, you can’t be the Don. To find a candidate that can get 218 votes, Republicans are going to have to choose among those who did not vote in favor of vacating the Chair to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. To our way of thinking Rep. Byron Donalds is the only real change agent among those whose name has been floated and he’s the right person to unify the fractious GOP Conference behind a “keep our promises” agenda.
Government Shutdown
Kevin McCarthy
Steve Scalise
Jim Jordan
vacate the chair
Candidate switches
lawfare
Matt Gaetz
Congressional leadership
Freedom Caucus
Byron Donalds