Prior to the fifth round of voting in the race for speaker of the House, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) called on former President Donald Trump to tell Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to drop out of the race.
Boebert is one of 20 conservative GOP members who are rallying around Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), thereby blocking McCarthy from claiming the gavel. McCarthy has said he has no intention of backing down from the job he’s chased for a decade, but the opposition he faces has shown no sign of budging.
“Let’s stop with the campaign smears and tactics to get people to turn against us. Even having my favorite president call us and tell us we need to knock this off,” she said. “I think it actually needs to be reversed — the president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy, ‘Sir, you do not have the votes, and it’s time to withdraw.'”
On Tuesday night, Trump urged Republican lawmakers to back McCarthy for speaker, expressing full confidence that he would be a good, conservative speaker of the House.
“REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social statement.
Many of McCarthy’s opponents are allies of Trump, but argue that McCarthy hasn’t made enough concessions on House rules and hasn’t been effective during his time as leader. Others have taken issue with the speaker hopeful’s willingness to send aid to Ukraine.
The speaker vote dragged into its 5th and 6th rounds of voting before the House decided to adjourn until 8 p.m. ET, giving the Republican Party an opportunity to reevaluate and consider its options.
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