Republican Civil War May Have Its First Casualty

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) is competing for the Speaker of the House against the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

McCarthy beat Biggs for the GOP nomination to become the Speaker of the House last month by a vote of 188 to 31. Biggs, the chairman of the GOP House Freedom Caucus, said in a Tuesday opinion article for The Daily Caller that more McCarthy leadership would solidify the establishment’s “uniparty” in Congress.

“We cannot pass up this all-too-rare opportunity to accomplish structural change because it is difficult to oppose the Republican candidate, who is a product of the established status quo, or because the challenge is linked to some minor risk,” Biggs wrote. “By voting a status quo candidate as the third most important person in government, we will never beat or upset the status quo, which is leading us to the Leftist’s vision of America.”

Following disappointing results in the recent midterm elections, Republicans are expected to secure a small House majority next year. Last month, Biggs spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told The Daily Wire that the nomination vote proved McCarthy did not currently have the Republican support to become Speaker.

McCarthy has stated that he won’t seek extra Dem. votes. He would require a simple majority of legislators to take the gavel; even if all 435 of the House’s members voted for a contender, opposition even from just a few Republicans could derail his road to the chamber’s top position.

“It’s going to be a close majority, so everyone has to work together,” McCarthy said following a meeting with House Republicans last month. “If we don’t all work together, we’ll be successful as a team but defeated as individuals.”

McCarthy, who has been a member of the House since 2007, praised his new colleagues on their small victories in a letter issued one day following the elections, stressing his willingness to consider recommendations from prestige members. “I will be a listener as much as a Speaker,” he wrote, “striving to develop consensus from the bottom-up instead of controlling the agenda from the top-down. That entails putting the appropriate people in the right places and maximizing the power of our entire conference. Everyone has something significant to contribute, and my door will always be open to your thoughts and feedback on how we can best achieve our common goals.”

Biggs, who has been a House member since 2017, said on Tuesday that McCarthy was betraying former President Trump and urged colleagues to “revitalize the America First Agenda” that Trump pioneered.

“The objective of the establishment is not to improve the lives of Americans; it is to win and maintain power,” he continued. “If anyone other than the establishment class benefits from the establishment’s dominance, it is purely coincidental.”