Raising A Question of the Privileges of the House
Floor Speech
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Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, Speaker McCarthy has been doubted.
After the first Speaker vote, he was mocked, right? After 15, they called him Speaker, and even then it was the media and the left that mocked him.
With the narrowest Republican majority in a generation, what did we achieve? We brought the President to the table when he stubbornly said for 100 days he would not negotiate on the debt ceiling. I took him at his word.
The Speaker said, no, we will get him to the table, and sure enough, we did. The result: The most conservative spending package we have seen in generations, the largest spending cuts year over year that any Congress has passed. Conservative outcomes.
I understand your position on the left. I understand that.
But my friends on the right, why?
Then this past weekend, I understand the frustration on the left at what happened on the continuing resolution, but why would we have conservatives object to that? Why would we have House Members object to that?
We rolled the Senate. We never roll the Senate as a House. Moreover, we never roll the Senate to get less spending, and we got it this weekend, so I understand why the left is mad. What I don't understand is why some Republicans think that that is a bad thing.
The frustration for me today--I understand where the liberals are. I know you support the constitutional order except in a moment like this when you are questioned on that. I understand that. You can't be counted on in a moment like this with the state of the speakership.
For Republicans, why would we give up a conservative working majority for better outcomes and hand the keys over to the Democrats? Why would we do that?
With this record of success that we have seen Kevin McCarthy and the Republican majority produce in a Washington run by Democrats, we are going to throw that away, resulting in more liberal outcomes, not more conservative ones. I understand why the left is where you are today. You don't like an effective conservative majority.
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