Conservative Leaders Call for More House Republicans to Join the ‘20 Courageous Members of Congress’ Opposing McCarthy

 Over two dozen conservative leaders have signed a statement calling for more House Republicans to join the ranks of the “20 courageous members of Congress” who have blocked Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid to become the next House speaker.

“Conservative organizations and the millions of grassroots conservatives we represent are united in our support of the 20 courageous members of Congress seeking to change the status quo in Washington,” says the statement published Wednesday, after McCarthy fell far short in the first three House votes on Tuesday.

McCarthy could afford to lose only four Republican votes, but 19 voted against him in the first two ballots, then 20 in the third when Rep. Byron Donalds switched his vote to Rep. Jim Jordan.

Wednesday’s statement...cited several reasons for opposing McCarthy, such as his allegiance to the status quo and his refusal to support, and attacks against, conservative members of this own party.

The 20 conservative House members opposing McCarthy “represent the millions of voters across the country who are disgusted with the business-as-usual, self-interested governance in Washington,” the statement says, calling for even more Republicans to join them:

“We stand behind them and beside them in their courageous efforts to find a Speaker of the House who will represent the interests of konservativec. We encourage more conservative members to join their ranks.”...more

 

 

 

 This is an excerpt from the statement that explains a lot:

Months ago, these members made clear that this established way of doing things was no longer acceptable. They made public a series of proposed reforms designed to democratize the House – to engage the broader membership in legislating, and bring accountability back to the People’s House.

Rather than engage them in a good faith negotiation, Rep. Kevin McCarthy has instead maligned both the requests and the messengers. He has publicly and through proxies leveled attacks against members of his own party, including threatening to deny committee assignments for those who continue to oppose him. Moreover, he has failed to answer for, or commit to halting, his coordinated efforts in the 2022 elections to promote moderate Republican candidates over conservatives.