Republican Congressman Confirms He’ll Challenge McCarthy for House Speaker

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said on Monday night that he plans to challenge House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) when the GOP conference convenes on Tuesday to choose its nominee to be speaker of the House.

“We have a new paradigm here, and I think the country wants a different direction from the House of Representatives,” Biggs told Newsmax. “And it’s a new world, and, yes, I’m going to be nominated tomorrow to the position of speaker of the House.”

After unexpected midterm results, Republicans who were hoping to win larger gains in Congress have indicated there is a need to call for new leadership.

Biggs said voters in Republican constituencies were urging their representatives to change direction, noting his decision wasn’t about McCarthy but “about the institutional direction and trajectory.”

“And that’s where we’re going to see if we have enough people who agree that we need to change the trajectory of this place and open it up so people can represent their constituency in a more open and transparent manner,” Biggs said.

Biggs had previously indicated a lack of confidence in McCarthy’s ability to lead, noting that he’s “backpedaled on things like impeachment,” which Biggs said “indicates a willingness to be weakening the oversight authority that we need to have and the leverage points we need to have in order to deal with a Democrat president.”

‘I’m Not Voting for Him’: Gaetz

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday said he won’t vote for McCarthy, and he’s certain many others won’t either.

“I’m making my announcement, which is that I’m not voting for Kevin McCarthy. I’m not voting for him tomorrow, I’m not voting for him on the floor,” Gaetz told “The Charlie Kirk Show.”

“And I am certain that there is a critical mass of people who hold my precise view, and so the sooner we can sort of dispense with the notion that Kevin is gonna be speaker, then we can get to the important work of actually looking at who are the people that Brian Fitzpatrick and Matt Gaetz can agree on.”

On Nov. 12, Gaetz took to Twitter to remind voters that McCarthy defended Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and said former President Donald Trump should resign after the events of Jan. 6, 2021.