Ramaswamy asks whether ‘chaos’ after ousting McCarthy from speakership is ‘a bad thing’
October 04, 2023 12:25 PM
2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says that the eight Republicans who voted with Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the House speakership should “own” the chaos resulting from the vote.
McCarthy was ousted as House speaker in a historic 216-210 vote, which saw eight Republicans join all present Democrats in the motion to vacate that was spearheaded by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Ramaswamy, in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, also questioned whether the chaos is “such a bad thing.”
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“The point of removing the House speaker was to sow chaos. That’s what the critics of Matt Gaetz and everybody else is saying. And my advice to the people who voted to remove him is own it,” Ramaswamy said.
“Admit it. There was no better plan of action of who’s going to fill that speaker role. So was the point to sow chaos? Yes, it was,” he continued. “But the real question to ask, to get to the bottom of it, is whether chaos is really such a bad thing.”
He conceded that the eight Republicans have no plan on who will fill the vacant speakership but said other issues the country is facing are more important than electing a House speaker.
“We don’t have a House speaker, what’s the plan to replace the speaker, everybody asks. Here’s what I say: who cares. Until we actually have a plan for how to address the deficit in our budget, how to address the $33 trillion in our national debt, how to actually seal our own southern border in our country, how to deal with an epidemic of crime across the United State of America, how to reduce our dependence on our enemy for our modern way of life, that’s what I want a plan for,” Ramaswamy said.
The House of Representatives cannot conduct any legislative activity on the floor until a speaker is elected.
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McCarthy said he would not seek the speakership again, setting up a battle in the House Republican Conference. House Republicans plan on voting for a new House speaker on Oct. 11, meaning the body will be without its constitutionally mandated leader.
Republicans considering taking up the speaker’s gavel include House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Jim Jordan (R-OH). A candidate forum is scheduled to be held on Oct. 10 for the House GOP, ahead of the conference deciding whom to nominate for speaker.