House Republicans have until noon on Sunday to submit their name to be considered for the party's nomination for Speaker of the House. Since the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) earlier this month as speaker, Republicans have had two nominees, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), although neither had enough votes to actually become speaker. Jordan even went through three rounds of voting. Ahead of the close for submissions, there already looks to be numerous candidates. How could Republicans possibly unite? The answer to that may be a pledge.
As POLITICO's Olivia Beavers has been covering, several candidates who have already declared their candidacy have agreed to sign a pledge indicaitng they'll back whomever the conference decides to nominate. The idea came from Rep. Mike Blood (R-NE).
NEW: There’s a new effort underway to get the House GOP to unite behind the next R who wins speaker nomination in Tuesday forum.
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 20, 2023
Rep. Flood (R-Neb.) is organizing a bloc of Rs who will withhold support from candidates unless they press their supporters to sign a pledge to do so pic.twitter.com/ykI3nDOMFK
As a report from POLITICO mentions:
Seven lawmakers have launched campaigns for the gavel ahead of a Sunday deadline, as House Republicans scramble — yet again — to select their new speaker, nearly three weeks after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the top post. And five of the announced candidates have committed in writing to a plot to ensure the next speaker-designate can rally 217 votes on the floor.
The device: A simple two-paragraph pledge, spearheaded by Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), to vote “yea” on the floor for whoever wins the House Republican conference’s backing in the initial secret-ballot election scheduled for Tuesday. To pick up more commitments, Flood is organizing a bloc of Republicans to withhold support from candidates unless they press their backers to sign the pledge.
Support for the strategy built rapidly Saturday, with signatures from speakership candidates Reps. Austin Scott (Ga.), Mike Johnson (La.), Pete Sessions (Texas), Jack Bergman (Mich.) and Kevin Hern (Okla.), chair of the Republican Study Committee.
Reps. Byron Donalds (Fla.) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.) are the only announced candidates who have not yet indicated support for the pledge. And allies of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are urging opposition.
...
McHenry promised that the House will hold a floor vote once the Republican conference settles on its next speaker candidate, the third in as many weeks. He did not, however, ask for the conference to advance a resolution to empower him to push forward legislation if the House falls short once again to elect a speaker.
While many members running have already signed the pledge, not everybody is on board.
Russ Vought, who served in the Trump administration, posted his strong opposition to the pledge, calling it "ridiculous."
This is a ridiculous letter and shouldn’t be signed. Cartel government away from the floor of the House. https://t.co/n9826BVhfO
— Russ Vought (@russvought) October 21, 2023
The pledge underscores a sense of urgency to get a speaker elected so that the House can go about its business. Although empowering Acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) was briefly considered last Thursday, when Jordan was still in the race, the idea was quickly scrapped due to vocal opposition from members who took issue with how there would need to be compromise with Democrats.
A government shutdown could soon be looming. Further, there's international crises looming with Hamas having attacked Israel earlier this month.
It would also likely help just in general to have the House operating again. As the pledge reads:
House Republicans need to elect a Speaker as soon as possible in order to return to work on behalf of the American people. It is time to put politics and personalities aside and unite behind the next Republican Conference choice for Speaker.
I, _________, hereby pledge to support the Speaker Designate duly elected by the House Republican Conference---regardless of who that candidate is--when their election proceeds to the House Floor. Further, I pledge to vote for the Speaker Designate on the House Floor for as long as they remain the Speaker Designate.
Such a pledge isn't the only news to do with the speaker's race. As Townhall covered on Friday, a letter was posted signed by the eight Republican members who joined with all House Democrats to oust McCarthy after voting on Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) motion to vacate the chair. The letter claimed those members were willing to accept punishment, such as censure and removal from committee assignments, in order for House Repulicans to unite behind selecting Jordan as speaker.
An updated letter was later sent out that did not include one of the eight, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who had consistently voted for someone other than Jordan during the three rounds of votes.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) on Saturday shared a particularly snarky response to those members, with lines such as "[w]e truly don't deserve you" and a note that they "begin the fourth week of national paralysis and as the world burns around us."
Super snarky McClintock letter to the 8 who voted to oust McCarthy… “we truly don’t deserve you.”
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 21, 2023
Notes the world burning too pic.twitter.com/2qgK668ikJ
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