In the November midterms, the voters gave Republicans a small majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The new GOP House majority should select the next Speaker of the House after four years of Nancy Pelosi. The squabbling Republicans, however apparently can’t agree on who will get to be the new Speaker. On Monday, Congressman Robert Aderholt announced that he plans to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy to be the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I’m planning to cast my vote for Kevin McCarthy to be the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Aderholt said in a statement emailed to Alabama Today. “He’s earned it. No one has worked harder to take back the House than Kevin McCarthy.”
“The American people elected a Republican majority in the House because they were tired of the direction of our nation and the leadership of Speaker Pelosi,” Aderholt continued. “The American people are expecting us to work to stop inflation, deal with the crisis at our southern border and hold the Biden Administration accountable. The sooner we elect a Republican Speaker, the sooner we can start.”
As of press time, it was still in doubt if McCarthy could gather enough support to be elected Speaker.
McCarthy did predict that Tuesday would be “a good day” when asked by reporters what he thought would happen in the Speaker’s vote.
Ultra-conservatives previously opposed McCarthy in his previous bid for Speaker replacing former Speaker John Boehner. The House Caucus instead chose former Vice Presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan. Ryan did not run again in 2018 after disagreements with then-President Donald Trump. Club for Growth is reportedly urging members to oppose McCarthy’s bid for Speaker.
Aderholt is the senior member of the Alabama congressional delegation. He has represented Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District since his election in 1996. Aderholt was the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee during the last Congress.
There are 222 Republicans in the 118th Congress to 212 Democrats. The vote for the next Speaker of the House is on Tuesday.
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