Ending Business As Usual

The debate over who will be the next speaker of the House has been frustrating to some. But, as I noted in yesterday’s report, this really is an important debate about ending business as usual, which is something most Americans say they want.

And there have been really important moments during this debate because people are hearing the truth about what has been happening on Capitol Hill, which even some conservatives have forgotten.

Rep. Chip Roy, who is opposing Kevin McCarthy, made an impassioned speech on the House floor this week. He asked the members to look around the chamber, noting how unusual it was that every seat was filled.

But as anyone who has tuned in to C-Span knows, the House chamber is usually empty, even when someone is giving a really great speech on a critically important issue. Debates have become perfunctory because so much is done by unelected staff and controlled by the dictates of the Rules Committee. 

Yet business as usual has been a disservice to the American people and to our country, which is why House conservatives are demanding change.

Here’s something else that some conservatives may have forgotten: This isn’t McCarthy’s first run at the speakership. He should have succeeded John Boehner in 2015, but he didn’t have the votes then either.