Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, has stated that Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the current speaker, will fare better than his equivalent in the Senate, Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
In an interview with John Catsimatidis on Sunday’s Cats Roundtable, Gingrich speculated about McCarthy’s future as speaker of the House based on his own experiences in the role. McCarthy won the speakership after a contentious election that lasted days and required numerous concessions from the California Republican. Even with the rocky beginning, Gingrich believed McCarthy would go on to great success.
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“Slim margins are common. When compared to Nancy Pelosi, McCarthy’s margin is same. Nonetheless, she was able to force through trillions of dollars in expenditure because the Democrats function like a machine. Gingrich elaborated, “Denny Hastert had a 5-vote edge at one point, and he became the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history. It was seized upon by [the holdouts]. They had anticipated the criticism and were ready for it.”
Gingrich continued by saying that the twenty Republicans who opposed McCarthy’s speakership bid may be divided into two camps: Both groups had members who detested McCarthy, but the latter “intended to move to a more conservative and more open Congress.” Next, he defended McCarthy on conservative principles, saying the incoming House speaker will be able to get conservative legislation passed.
“When it comes to standing out for conservative ideals, Kevin will have more success than Mitch McConnell ever could in the Senate. In retrospect, it will be clear that McCarthy is a seasoned, competent individual despite the difficulties he faced along the way. If you visit commitmenttoamerica.com, which features some 150 important recommendations created… by the whole Republican conference, you will realize that he has some pretty grand ideas. Once they get the engine back on track, he said, “the train will be really remarkable.”
When McCarthy finally received the 15th vote he needed to become speaker late on a Friday night, he finally succeeded where the other 14 had failed.
