Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) should "already" have the authority to govern the House while Republicans work to secure a nominee for the speakership.
"I appointed Patrick McHenry," McCarthy said in a Monday interview with Fox and Friends. "You want the continuity of government to work. He should already have that authority. Congress should be able to be moving forward, because a speaker doesn’t change the outcome of a vote, the bills come through committee. And while we're electing a new speaker, Patrick McHenry should be able to have the continuity of government working right now."
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"It was the Democrats who fought to keep Patrick McHenry from having the authority in the first place," McCarthy continued.
McCarthy's comments come after centrist Democrats had a discussion with McHenry where they indicated they would support expanding his authority to allow the House to take up appropriations bills and legislation for foreign aid in the wake of the war in Israel.
A speakership vote is expected on Tuesday. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who is the House Republicans's second nominee, will run against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and possibly another Republican if a name is brought forward.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), the first GOP nominee for speaker, dropped out of the race when he struggled to receive the 217 votes needed to win the speakership on the House floor. Neither Jordan nor Scalise received 217 votes during the nomination process, putting Jordan in a similar uphill battle to get the necessary support.
McCarthy said he feels "very good" about where Jordan is at in terms of whipping votes.
"He has been an integral part of our team when we took the majority, helping us get the majority," McCarthy said of Jordan. "The real challenge here is — and I know a lot of people out there are afraid that, 'Will Republicans break off and work with Democrats?' The only reason anybody's even talking about that is because eight Republican members worked with every single Democrat to remove me from speaker and put us into this tailspin."
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McCarthy added that he does not want to "look into hypotheticals" about whether the Republican caucus would back a move to keep McHenry in power if Jordan cannot get the 217 votes needed to become speaker.
"My focus is to get Jim Jordan elected speaker, get this Congress back moving again. It's one thing to get elected, it's another thing to govern," McCarthy said.