Boehner, Gingrich: House should enable McHenry as interim speaker

Former House Speakers John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) want House Republicans to give more to Speaker Patrick McHenry (RNC) power to run the body as Republicans struggle to select a new permanent president.

In a post on your personal site On Tuesday evening, Gingrich said McHenry, who became speaker pro tem after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted, should be given the broadest authority to lead the House and move the legislation

It’s unclear whether House Republicans can muster 217 votes for a single candidate to elect a president on the floor; Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) fell short in the first vote on Tuesday and is expected to have the same luck in Wednesday’s runoff.

“If House Republicans can’t resolve the speakership in the next few days, they may be better off tasking Speaker Interim Patrick McHenry with running the House at least through the end of the year,” Gingrich said. .

“America does not have the luxury of standing by and allowing a handful of destructive Republicans, or even the legitimate ambitions of good people, to prevent the system from working.”

“Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry is a much better solution than gridlock and chaos,” he continued. “He should be empowered this week and let’s get on with people’s business.”

Boehner, who now works at the law and lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs, responded to a reporter’s coverage of Gingrich’s column on X, formerly Twitter, saying “I agree.”

Both Gingrich and Boehner faced divided GOP caucuses when they led the group in the 1990s and 2010, respectively.

Former Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.), another Republican who dealt with a divided caucus while in office, made similar remarks early Tuesday in a event organized by Harvard University.

Ryan said McHenry’s powers should be expanded so that he has the “ability to be a spokesman for legislative reasons,” and that will continue until Republicans “can find a spokesman.”

“That’s probably where they’re going to end up if Jim Jordan can’t put it together,” Ryan said.

The movement to empower McHenry from within Congress had been spearheaded by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio). He will introduce a measure Wednesday to officially give the North Carolina Republican the authority to preside over the legislation.

“After two weeks without a Speaker of the House and without a clear nominee with 217 votes at the Republican conference, it’s time to look at other viable options. By empowering Patrick McHenry as Speaker Pro Tempore we can take care of our ally Israel until a new president is elected,” Joyce said in a statement.

Answers Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) has also supported similar moves.

“We can’t go weeks and weeks, which we are now, without having a functioning legislature. So whoever can get us there … I’m going to go after that. If that’s Patrick, if that’s whoever,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday.

But other Republicans at the conference say McHenry doesn’t want the job.

“I’ve talked to Patrick several times about this. And I asked him, does he want this? Does he want to do this? And he just said, ‘Do you hate me that much?'” said Rep. Greg Murphy (RN.C.).

“So it’s been pretty consistent. He doesn’t want it.”