Texas Representative Chip Roy didn't mince words when he explained to Glenn why the GOP is fighting against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy:
What we're fighting for are the tools and the leadership necessary to stop the swamp from rolling over the average American who are sick and tired of seeing this town undermine their freedom, spend money we don't have, and continue to violate every promise they've ever made in the campaign—I'm going to cut spending, going to balance the budget, we're going to secure the border...bull.
It may sound a little different than the mainstream media's message—like from Alabama Rep Mike Rogers, who accused the anti-McCarthy GOP of seeking "petty personal privileges." Similarly, Texas Rep Dan Crenshaw called the fight against McCarthy a "childish attempt at gaining more and more attention."
What the MSM and McCarthy Republicans don't want you to know is that the anti-McCarthy coalition is fighting for specific, attainable goals that will actually reform the government and ensure the American people are better represented in Congress. Here are the 3 main reasons, articulated by Rep. Roy, why a growing number of Republicans have chosen to stand against McCarthy and the swamp establishment.
1. We MUST elect House leadership who will challenge the swamp
Rep. Roy told Glenn that "Americans are tired of D.C. elites undermining their freedom, spending money we don’t have, and continuing to violate every promise they made in the campaign." Does that sound like Kevin McCarthy?
McCarthy's track record speaks for itself: he is a swamp elite who benefits from the status quo and won't enable other Republicans to deliver on their campaign promises of leading desperately needed reform in D.C.
During his tenure as the House Minority Leader under the first half of the Biden administration, McCarthy voted with Democrats to pass the multi-trillion-dollar omnibus bills, even though Republicans were in the minority and had nothing to lose by voting against the omnibus bills. Since McCarthy has been in House leadership, the federal deficit almost tripled from $11 trillion to $32 trillion.
It's important to note the House Speaker is in charge of committee appointments and delegating positions to GOP leadership. Whether or not McCarthy appoints swamp Republicans to key leadership positions will largely determine how Congress functions for the next term. Anti-McCarthy Republicans have little faith that McCarthy will appoint Republicans who will actually drain the swamp. This is deeply troubling, especially regarding the anti-McCarthy Republicans' other two goals.
2. We MUST amend the House Rules Committee
Did you know there's a small committee that determines which bills reach the House floor? This is the House Rules Committee, and they are one of the main reasons why Dems and the D.C. establishment have been able to push through multi-trillion-dollar legislation, like last month's $1.7 trillion omnibus bill. If the Rules Committee is filled with career swamp politicians, regardless of whether or not they are Republican or Democrat, we can expect the status quo—unfulfilled campaign promises, reckless omnibus bills, open borders, and unaccountability over government corruption.
As Rep. Roy says, "We have to have people on the rules committee who reflect the conservatives who elected Republicans to change the town.” The anti-McCarthy Republicans have little faith that McCarthy will appoint Reps to the Rules Committee who will prevent omnibus bills and trillion-dollar legislation from reaching the floor.
3. We MUST change the rules for bringing legislation to the floor
In addition to changing the Representatives on the House Rules Committee, the GOP challenging McCarthy want to change the rules for bringing legislation to the floor. Currently, the Rules Committee can push multi-thousand-page legislation to the floor and require an immediate "yes or no" vote without giving the representatives the opportunity to actually read the entirety of the bill let alone debate the bill itself and potential amendments. This, in addition to swamp Republicans who side with Democrat legislation (like McCarthy), is the reason why Congress has been able to push multi-trillion-dollar spending bills without giving dissenting Representatives the opportunity to read and debate the thousands of pages of legislation.
The anti-McCarthy GOP wants to change that. They want to revise the rules to require debate over legislation and amendments and discourage thousand-page bills that make it effectively impossible for dissenters to challenge. This would better ensure Congress is passing meaningful legislation that better reflects the will of the American people.
However, McCarthy has shown he is unwilling to budge on this potential concession. Why? Because he has benefited from the omnibus bills, hiding his pet projects alongside the other pet projects of other swamp politicians into the omnibus bills. These rules would make it very difficult for swamp politicians to push their agenda through omnibus bills—a concession McCarthy won't so easily give.
If Republicans don't deliver on their promises, why elect them in the first place?
Glenn asked Rep. Choy the question at the heart of the McCarthy debate: "If you guys don't have the freedom to investigate and teeth and the backbone to actually do things in the interest of all Americans, why did we vote for any Republicans?
This is what the anti-McCarthy Republicans are fighting for—the freedom and ability to do things in the interest of all Americans. If McCarthy is elected as House Speaker, it is very likely things will remain the status quo—and the American people demand better.
