(VitalNews.org) – As House Republicans struggle to decide on the next Speaker of the House, GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie is running out of patience, calling the entire ordeal “an embarrassment.”
It’s been over three weeks since former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position after eight members of his own party joined with House Democrats to vote him out in an effort spearheaded by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Ever since the ousting, the GOP has failed to unify behind one candidate, while Democrats have remained steadfast in their support for their own leader, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
Appearing on MSNBC, the former New Jersey governor said the situation is “an embarrassment” to the Republican Party “and to the country.” Christie noted how the GOP already went “through two nominees” since McCarthy was ousted, and that his view is that House Republicans should “just pick somebody now.”
On Tuesday, House Republicans picked a new candidate: Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, as the fourth nominee. Hours before, Minnesota Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip, won the nomination following multiple rounds of voting. Hours later and right before Johnson was picked, Emmer withdrew after it became obvious that he would have too many challengers to hit the 217 necessary votes on the floor.
Christie said there was no time to dilly-dally over who the speaker should be when Congress has serious issues to attend to, such as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the war in Ukraine, and the border crisis. He said the House needs “to function” in order “to address these problems” and “should pick a Speaker” as soon as possible.
Thankfully, Johnson ultimately won the seat.
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