The Fox News House speaker debate was called off Friday, hours after it was announced, when the three Republicans who were invited to participate declined the invitation amid concerns within the GOP that the televised event could showcase and deepen divisions within the party.
U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) speaks during a news conference after a House ... [+]
The event was called off after the speaker candidates—Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Steve Scalise (La.)—agreed not to participate, according to multiple reports.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who was among the planned debate candidates even though he has not made a decision about running for the leadership role, encouraged Republicans to instead have a “family discussion” about the next speaker, rather than airing their grievances on national television, he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Plans for the debate, which was set to be hosted by Fox News’ Bret Baier Monday at 6 p.m., unraveled shortly after they were announced Friday amid GOP concerns that the event could intensify the turmoil within the party as Republicans seek to rebuild following McCarthy’s ouster on Tuesday.
“This is a bad idea” and a “lapse of judgment,” Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.) told Axios, adding “right now we’ve got a lot to work out that’s very delicate, emotions and otherwise, and this is not going to help our conference work through some very difficult times . . . We know it’s a debate, we don’t need to play semantic games.”
Republican divisions boiled over on Tuesday when McCarthy became the first speaker in U.S. history to be removed from his post, following a far-right revolt led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Many GOP members have sharply criticized Gaetz and the seven other Republicans who voted alongside him to remove McCarthy, and some have called for Gaetz’s expulsion from the Republican conference in the wake of Tuesday’s vote.
Republicans are expected to host a candidate forum Tuesday when they return to Washington following a weeklong recess, and they could hold a new election as soon as Wednesday.
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