Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), a member of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), nominated Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for Speaker of the House ahead of the ninth vote for the speakership and asserted that McCarthy has “addressed and accepted” many of the concerns voiced by the 20 Republicans who have repeatedly voted against him.
“I believe the 20 members that have nominated an alternate candidate have expressed their concerns with leadership, and many of those concerns have been addressed and accepted by Leader McCarthy and this conference,” said Nehls on the House floor.
“I believe this battle we are waging must end. Kevin McCarthy fully understands that being Speaker of the House will not be easy,” he added.
The representative from Texas then noted that McCarthy would need “support and endorsement from the Freedom Caucus” to advance any legislation out of the House if he is elected.
“This is where I believe we can hold the Speaker accountable,” Nehls emphasized.
“Kevin has made changes to the House rules at the request of all members,” he explained before specifically citing McCarthy’s willingness to adopt a motion to vacate the chair:
One of those rule changes was the motion to vacate the chair, which Nancy Pelosi removed four years ago to avoid the scrutiny and the accountability. The motion to vacate the chair that has not been offered for a floor vote in over 100 years calls for the removal of the speaker of [the] House. Kevin has reinstated the motion to vacate the chair, which I believe was the right thing to do. This motion allows us, the Republican conference, to hold the speaker accountable.
Nehls noted that the American people gave the GOP “their vote of confidence to change the direction of our country” in putting them in the majority and that they desire leadership:
Kevin McCarthy understands. He understands he must protect that speaker’s gavel and abide [by] the will of the American people. The decisions we make in the 118th Congress are critical to [the] future of our country. The decisions we make, the legislation we pass as a Republican majority, must have the support of the American people. We have a crisis on every corner in America and American people are expecting Republicans to bring this much needed change. We must come together today and implement that change.
He then emphasized that Republicans understand they must combat the Southern Border crisis and inflation, work toward energy independence, and lower crime.
“We must place America and its people first,” said Nehls.
The ninth ballot was ultimately unsuccessful in electing a Speaker of the House. A tenth ballot will be required for the first time since 1859, according to Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram.