Washington, DC — In the early hours of Saturday morning, January 7th, the U.S. House of Representatives, after several failed votes, finally selected Republican Kevin McCarthy from California as Speaker of the House.
McCarthy had to make concessions to Republican Party hardliners who had refused to support him for not being sufficiently conservative. It took 15 votes for a majority to vote for any candidate, in this case, McCarthy.
Congressman Randy Feenstra from Hull subsequently issued a statement after McCarthy was elected.
Feenstra says, “The American people entrusted Republicans with our new House majority to deliver real results for our country and our communities. With the election of Kevin McCarthy as our Speaker, we can now honor our Commitment to America by defunding President Biden’s army of 87,000 new IRS agents, securing our border, ending wasteful spending, and protecting our family farmers and producers. I am also encouraged that, under Speaker McCarthy, we have secured important reforms to prevent massive bills – like the recent $1.7 trillion government spending package that I opposed – from being written behind closed doors and passed in haste. I look forward to serving Iowans, rebuilding our economy, and delivering on our promises in the 118th Congress.”
