[단독 인터뷰] Hard-line Republican lawmakers who supported McCarthy’s dismissal say they lack credibility

While a small number of hardliners within the U.S. Republican Party joined forces with the Democratic Party to suddenly fire former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a member of their own party, hardliners in the Republican Party spoke out directly about this.

In an exclusive interview with NTD, a sister media outlet of the Epoch Times, on the 4th (local time), U.S. Republican Representatives Bob Good and Matt Rosendale explained why they supported the resolution to dismiss former Speaker McCarthy.

On this day, Representative Rosendale explained, “Former Chairman McCarthy lacks credibility.”

Former Chairman McCarthy is a person who has been called close to a moderate conservative for his actions of compromising with Democratic President Joe Biden. This has been criticized as a “contradiction” by hardliners in the Republican Party.

For example, hardliners have been insisting on drastic budget cuts and have refused to process the federal budget bill, which should be completed before October 1.

However, former Chairman McCarthy proposed a temporary budget to prevent a federal government shutdown, and it was eventually passed. This served as a direct impetus for hardliners within the Republican Party to push for a resolution to dismiss him.

In this regard, Representative Rosendale said, “I think we need to compromise and cooperate,” but emphasized, “We cannot tolerate giving us wrong information and leading us down the wrong path.”

Rep. Good also agreed with this and said of the interim budget, “It was the limit of my patience (with former Speaker McCarthy).” Rep. Good also mentioned the bill to raise the federal government debt limit that former Chairman McCarthy passed through compromise with President Biden.

Congressman Tim Burchett, another Republican hardliner who supported former Speaker McCarthy’s dismissal, also criticized the temporary budget plan in an interview with The Epoch Times, saying, “America’s debt is as high as $33 trillion.” Rep. Burchett raised his voice to the Epoch Times, saying, “Passing a temporary budget bill to allow enough time to enact a budget bill does nothing to solve the fundamental problem.”

Division within the Republican Party?

Previously, on the 3rd, a resolution to dismiss former Speaker McCarthy submitted by Representative Matt Gates, a hard-line Republican, was passed with 216 votes in favor and 210 against. All Democrats and a small number of Republicans joined in stripping former Speaker McCarthy of his gavel.

A total of eight Republican lawmakers voted in favor, including Gates, Good, Burchett, and Rosendale, as well as Ken Buck, Andy Biggs, Ellie Crane, and Nancy Mays.

Representatives Good and Rosendale predicted that the Republican Party would not be divided by the dismissal of former Speaker McCarthy.

Representative Rosendale reminded us that former Speaker McCarthy was the only person to become Speaker after 15 rounds of voting.

“The next Speaker of the House will be someone who reflects the conservative core of the Republican Party, someone who is more militant, someone with more leadership, someone who can be trusted and respected to win all 218 Republican votes,” Good said. “It was predicted.

Representative Burchett also repeatedly emphasized, “We will get a new chairman.”

Candidates for next Speaker of the House

During former Speaker McCarthy’s term, the Republican Party was able to pass Republican-led bills in the House of Representatives, such as border security, the Energy Cost Reduction Act, and cuts to the Internal Revenue Service budget, instead of passing a bill to raise the federal government debt limit.

However, except for the bill to raise the federal debt limit, the remaining bills could not pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, so in effect, only President Biden and the Democratic Party were helped.

Former Speaker McCarthy announced that he would not run for Speaker of the House again. Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry will serve as interim acting chairman until a new chairman is elected.

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Republican House Minority Leader Steve Scalise were the first to vote for the vacant next chairman position. In addition, Rep. Kevin Herne, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, is also expected to run.

A debate on candidates for the next Speaker of the House is scheduled for the 10th, and voting will be held the following day, the 11th.

Regardless of who sits as the next Speaker of the House, the House-level impeachment investigation into President Biden, formalized by former Speaker McCarthy, will continue. With the passage of former Speaker McCarthy’s interim budget, there are about 40 days left until the U.S. federal government shutdown deadline.

*Reporter Hwang Hyo-jeong contributed to the translation and arrangement of this article.