U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) spoke on the recent ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
On Tuesday, Congress voted to vacate the seat of the Speaker of the House. The unprecedented 216-210 vote drew unanimous support from House Democrats, with only eight Republicans joining to vote in favor.
RELATED: Alabama House Republicans stick with McCarthy on successful motion to vacate Speaker's seat
The vacant seat leaves many uncertain about Congress’s effectiveness moving forward, especially with a temporarily funded government.
One of the contentious issues leading up to the motion to vacate was a continuing resolution to fund the government for an additional 45 days while both houses debate appropriation bills dictating government spending.
On the eve of the vote, former President Donald Trump questioned the GOP infighting, asking on social media, “Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves? Why aren’t they fighting the Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country?”
According to Tuberville, McCarthy’s ousting leaves many unanswered questions over GOP effectiveness during rushed debates over government spending. Tuberville also echoed Trump’s sentiments, calling for unity in forwarding the party’s priorities.
“We’ve got to be united,” Tuberville said. "And I agree with what President Trump said about Republicans. We need to unite more and more every day. It’s hard to lose your coach midway through the season and have anything really worthwhile working for you. Democrats, they’re united, and that’s a huge advantage. You know, we’ve got a lot of diversity in our conference, but we need to be united if we want to win."
While the vote to oust McCarthy came amid accusations that he was a RINO who spent his tenure capitulating to Democrats, Tuberville said GOP motivations should be combatting the Democrats’ agenda.
“I truly believe [Republicans] are for the United States of America," he outlined. "But I know what the Democrats are for; they’re for power. They’re for absolutely keeping power on their side. They could care less about our border or anything else that goes along with making this country stronger.”
Tuberville continued, “I’ve got a lot of friends in the House. You know, there’s a lot of unity over there. There’s a lot of people that really still believe in this country and the Republican Party. The problem is, we’re just divided on how to do things. And that’s good to some degree, but it’s not when you have a group of Democrats that all just fall in line no matter what they believe in. They just want to continue to remain with power.”
Tuberville said he was reticent to accept that an effective budget debate could take place in such limited time in addition to the now vacant speaker seat. He also said the House should prioritize replacing McCarthy to allow Republicans in both houses to move forward.
“To my Republican colleagues, I’d like them to get the speaker done as quickly as possible to get back to business, get this budget done, number one, and get our minds back on the border and crime and the things that are affecting this country,” Tuberville concluded.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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