Mark Levin Opposes Andy Biggs for Speaker (Newsmax)
By Nicole Wells | Monday, 14 November 2022 01:10 PM EST
Conservative radio host Mark Levin on Monday denounced the effort by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., to become Speaker of the House.
"Andy Biggs has spent years opposing Convention of States," Levin wrote on Twitter. "As Arizona Senate president he refused to allow a vote on it. Only after he went to Congress was Arizona able to pass its resolution for Convention of States."
Levin added in a follow-up tweet: "I strongly OPPOSE his effort to become speaker. He's NOT a constitutional conservative."
Biggs on Thursday said Republicans should have a "good discussion" about whether Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy should become House speaker.
"I would say maybe, not so fast," Biggs said on The Absolute Truth with Emerald Robinson podcast. "Maybe we should have a good discussion within the confines of our internal body. Look, we were told we were going to have an incredible, incredible wave. And if that were to have been the case, a 20, 30, 40 seat margin, you would say, 'Well Kevin's the presumptive Republican nominee for speaker.'
"But I think we need to have a serious discussion. He's back-pedaled on things like impeachment. In some ways, that indicates a willingness to be weakening the oversight authority that we need to have, and the leverage points we need to have in order to deal with a Democrat president."
According to the Daily Caller, McCarthy formally declared his candidacy for the position on Wednesday and is currently running unopposed. Although a number of races have not yet been decided, Republicans are expected to hold between 220 and 225 seats in the House. McCarthy and his allies had predicted that the GOP would emerge from the midterms holding more than 230 seats.
In openly questioning if McCarthy should lead the lower chamber, Biggs is joined by Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., while many potential challengers have endorsed McCarthy's bid, including Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan.
Former President Donald Trump is also supporting McCarthy.
According to the Caller, the Freedom Caucus is likely to demand procedural rule changes in exchange for supporting McCarthy's candidacy. Many members are keen to revive the motion to vacate the chair, which would allow any member to request a vote to remove the speaker at any time. Democrats made drastic changes to the procedure when they took control of the House in 2019, according to the Caller.