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"... While the establishment is behind him, a not-insignificant faction of
the Republican Party certainly is not. It’s not the first time the more
conservative wing has threatened to keep him from the gavel. Yet
whatever scuttlebut there may be about choosing someone else for the
job—Andy Biggs from Arizona is launching a heartening, if improbable, challenge—it’s
looking increasingly less likely that the majority of House Republicans
can rally behind anyone but the lukewarm representative from
California. . ."
Republicans Immunized Against Change - The American Conservative
Politics
The end of the vaccine mandate comes at a convenient moment for weak Republicans in the U.S. House.
(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Kevin McCarthy is eyeing the laurels. Congress will end the military’s vaccine mandate, and his role as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives will be secured.
The move to stop the Department of Defense from mandating the Covid-19 vaccine for all service members is indeed a victory. But after more than a year of constituents and service men and women pestering their congressional representatives about the issue, only to be largely ignored, the timing seems suspect, to say the least. House Republicans as a group stayed silent until a few short weeks ago, when midterm elections and leadership decisions were once again on the line. Out of nowhere, the voices crying in the wilderness were at last heard, and the Grand Ol’ Party was suddenly outraged that the military would remove talented service members over a shot. As usual, they look likely to come through hot water unscalded, simply by waiting until temperatures were tepid.
The agreement to end the vaccine mandate will be tied up with the annual National Defense Authorization Act, one of the two major appropriations bills set to be passed before the end of the year. If the bill as it stands is passed—and it is expected to, as both parties have approved it in negotiations—the Department of Defense would no longer be permitted to require Covid-19 vaccination as a condition for entry or continued service in the United States military.
In addition to serving as a rallying point for lackluster Republicans, the decision is also made with one eye firmly on plummeting recruitment rates in the military over the past several years. The Army in particular has made headlines for lowering recruitment goals and still coming up 10,000 soldiers short. The end of the vaccine mandate would not, however, reinstate those members, roughly 3,400 as of April, who were removed from the service on account of not taking the shot. . ." READ MORE
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Andy Biggs Says GOP Needs To 'Make A Change' And Drop Kevin McCarthy As Speaker Nominee
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"Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona called for Republicans to drop Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California as the party’s nominee for speaker of the House Thursday.
“We need to make a change in trajectory, a change of path, a change in process, a change of procedure, a change in policy,” Biggs told “America Reports” host John Roberts. “All of those are not going to happen with the current leadership — leader at the top, and he’s had 12 years when at or near the apex of Republican leadership, it’s time to make a change. And if we make those changes, I think we’ll get a better process, which will lead to better policy for the American people.” (RELATED: ‘Couldn’t Lead In The Minority’: GOP Rep. Blasts McCarthy’s Speaker Bid)
Biggs launched an unsuccessful challenge to McCarthy for the nomination of the House Republican caucus to serve as Speaker of the House, losing by a 188-31 vote on Nov. 15. Biggs announced he would still run for the post in spite of McCarthy being the Republican nominee.
WATCH:
“I’m hearing from people who I had not heard from literally for months and months and months who have come up to me and said I think you are right, we need a change, and we need to change the direction,” Biggs said.
McCarthy needs 218 votes to become speaker of the House. At least five Republicans have said they will not back McCarthy for speaker, according to Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, enough to deny McCarthy the speakership.
“We are not in complete disarray,” Biggs said after Roberts played a clip of several Democratic representatives claiming the Republican Party was in trouble. “Republicans, whether it’s on the more liberal end of the spectrum or more conservative end of the spectrum, we agree on many, many policy issues.”
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska threatened to work with Democrats to elect “a moderate alternative” as speaker, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
McCarthy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation."
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Right-wing demand list further complicates McCarthy's speaker bid
Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images.
A group of seven current and incoming right-wing House Republicans who have not yet taken public positions on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) bid for speaker on Thursday released a list of demands for GOP leadership.
Why it matters: The list includes at least one item that's likely to be a red line for the Republican leader, which could throw his already murky path to the speaker’s gavel into even greater doubt with less than a month to go until the election.
Driving the news: The seven Republicans wrote in a letter obtained by Axios that House leadership "has increasingly centralized decision-making power around fewer and fewer individuals," demanding concessions on policy, procedure and right-wing representation.
- The first demand listed: making it easier to force a vote on motions to vacate the chair – or dislodge the speaker — a disruptive and potentially destabilizing power McCarthy is reluctant to cede.
- Another is for leadership to refrain from spending to tip the scales in Republican House primaries, another monumental ask for McCarthy.
What caught our eye: The letter is led by Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), the House Freedom Caucus chair, who has repeatedly demurred on his position on McCarthy's speaker bid since the Californian was nominated last month.
- He told Axios on Thursday he is "clearly" still undecided, saying of giveaways McCarthy has already made to conservatives on GOP conference rules: "We've got to go much further than rules, but we’re happy to have a conversation.”
- Another is Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) who has only gone so far as to tell Axios on Friday, "No one in this town has 218 [votes] … Things are going to have to change between now and Jan. 3."
- Also on the list are two incoming freshmen: Reps-elect Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Eli Crane of Arizona, both prospective Freedom Caucus members.
What they're saying: One of the signers, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), said in a statement McCarthy is "a friend" and that they have a "good working relationship."
- "While I continue my consideration of who I will vote for, the items presented are simply what I expect and require for anyone seeking the responsibility of serving as Speaker."
By the numbers: McCarthy is on track for a 10-seat majority by the time the new Congress is sworn in, and five House Republicans have publicly said they won’t vote for him, severely imperiling his bid.
- Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) announced on Wednesday he is challenging McCarthy, though his bid is more a ploy to pull votes from McCarthy than get elected speaker himself.
- "I don't know anyone that’s predicting anyone that’s predicting Andy Biggs will get 218,” said Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), Biggs' anti-McCarthy co-conspirator. “What Andy is courageously doing is opening that door for us to help us deny Kevin the majority.”
- Another McCarthy foe, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), asked if he would vote for Biggs, told Axios, "We're all debating. We've got, what, 23 days? … We’ll see."
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