by Nicholas Ballasy
GOP Rep. Jim Jordan decided Thursday to not move forward with his bid to become the next House speaker and instead supported a proposal to elevate fellow Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry from his post as speaker pro tem to unelected speaker for a temporary period of time.
Jordan made the move after failing twice this week in full House votes to secure enough ballots to win the speakership.
McHenry was appointed to the position of pro tem speaker after California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the speakership post roughly two weeks ago.
The strategy of the House Republican Conference, which controls the chamber, is to put a member in place, then try to have that person preside over legislative matters until a new speaker can be elected.
The conference has been split on deciding on a new speaker, with far-right members largely opposing McCarthy, then other nominees.
Jordan will reportedly continue to try to secure enough GOP votes until January and remain the speaker designee.
Former GOP House speakers Newt Gingrich and John Boehner have supported the McHenry idea, in an attempt to try to stop what critics have called “chaos” within the conference.
However, some argue McHenry in his elevated temporary speakership post won’t have the authority of an elected speaker to fully legislate.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, told Just the News on Wednesday that making McHenry speaker for 90 days would be a mistake.
“They would be creating a Speaker Patrick McHenry for 90 days and during that 90 days will be the very, very important spending bills for the next 12 to 18 months,” he said. “And so I think it’d be a mistake.”
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Nicholas Ballasy has been breaking news for more than a decade in the nation’s capital and questioning political leaders about the most pressing issues facing the nation. Since 2008, Ballasy has interviewed former President Bill Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Donald Trump, Sen. Mitt Romney, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. John McCain, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and more.
Photo “Rep. Patrick McHenry” by Rep. Patrick McHenry.
