As House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy struggles in his bid to become the next House speaker, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said that he would be willing to reach across the aisle to elect a speaker if necessary.
Bacon plans to support McCarthy, but he said on Monday that he would work with Democrats to find a new candidate if McCarthy doesn't get enough votes, in order to keep Congress from becoming gridlocked and ineffective.
"If we have total gridlock, I'm going to work with like-minded people across the aisle to find someone agreeable for speaker," Bacon said. "We have to govern. We can't afford to let our country be stuck in neutral."
McCarthy faces a closed-door election on Tuesday, when Republican caucus members will vote to choose their nominee for speaker of the House. Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs announced Monday night that he would challenge McCarthy for the nomination.
McCarthy is expected to have enough votes to secure the GOP nomination, but some question whether he could get the required 218 votes from the full House in the January election. While the final outcome of last week's election has yet to be settled, Republicans are expected to hold a slim majority in the House — just more than 218 seats — and some GOP lawmakers have said they would not support McCarthy. That could leave McCarthy with too few votes, since Democrats are unlikely to vote for him.
Bacon said that he will support McCarthy, and he believes that McCarthy or another Republican eventually will secure the votes needed to be elected as speaker.
But if Republicans can't coalesce around a single GOP candidate, Bacon said he would be willing to work with Democrats to elect a moderate Republican or an "agreeable" candidate to avoid chaos in the House.
The lack of support from his own party isn't a new phenomenon for McCarthy. In 2015, he withdrew from the race to become the Republican nominee for speaker after more than 30 Republicans said they would not vote for him. Rep. Paul Ryan ran for the post and won after McCarthy's withdrawal.
Bacon plans to support McCarthy, but he said on Monday that he would work with Democrats to find a new candidate if McCarthy doesn't get enough votes, in order to keep Congress from becoming gridlocked and ineffective.
"If we have total gridlock, I'm going to work with like-minded people across the aisle to find someone agreeable for speaker," Bacon said. "We have to govern. We can't afford to let our country be stuck in neutral."
McCarthy faces a closed-door election on Tuesday, when Republican caucus members will vote to choose their nominee for speaker of the House. Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs announced Monday night that he would challenge McCarthy for the nomination.
McCarthy is expected to have enough votes to secure the GOP nomination, but some question whether he could get the required 218 votes from the full House in the January election. While the final outcome of last week's election has yet to be settled, Republicans are expected to hold a slim majority in the House — just more than 218 seats — and some GOP lawmakers have said they would not support McCarthy. That could leave McCarthy with too few votes, since Democrats are unlikely to vote for him.
Bacon said that he will support McCarthy, and he believes that McCarthy or another Republican eventually will secure the votes needed to be elected as speaker.
But if Republicans can't coalesce around a single GOP candidate, Bacon said he would be willing to work with Democrats to elect a moderate Republican or an "agreeable" candidate to avoid chaos in the House.
The lack of support from his own party isn't a new phenomenon for McCarthy. In 2015, he withdrew from the race to become the Republican nominee for speaker after more than 30 Republicans said they would not vote for him. Rep. Paul Ryan ran for the post and won after McCarthy's withdrawal.
Bacon would work with Dems to elect moderate House speaker if GOP's McCarthy falls short
If House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy fails to get enough votes to become the next speaker of the House, Rep. Don Bacon said that he would be willing to reach
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