Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), is one of the most outspoken hardliners in the far-right House Freedom Caucus — and the focus of those looking for a potential challenge to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), reported POLITICO on Thursday.
However, reported Olivia Beavers, for now he seems to be keeping his powder dry — and hasn't quite decided on his next move.
"Much like McCarthy during this spring’s debt showdown, Biggs had to balance the expectations of conservatives — i.e., his own – with the pull of bipartisanship. Biggs, like McCarthy, even faced a threat of potential ouster from his leadership post," said the report, specifically referring to his time as Arizona Senate President when he was involved in a fight over Medicaid expansion.
"'I have a certain degree of empathy,' for McCarthy, Biggs told Politico. The flash of compassion suggests that one of the right flank’s most vocal figures hasn’t figured out whether he wants to be an occasional McCarthy gadfly — or the first to un-sheath the knife to take out the speaker.
"It’s tempting to see Biggs as one of the most likely members to force a House vote on booting McCarthy, a drastic measure that his fellow conservatives fought for the power to take. But Biggs is clearly still deciding."
"The rock-and-roll-loving Mormon has his own fair share of critics inside the party who appear largely unfamiliar with his past. Some House Republicans view Biggs’ legislative persona as an unlicensed backseat driver, a constant no vote who still tries to give direction on how to make policy," said the report. "Out of the roughly 760 bills he’s introduced, only one has become law: Renaming a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in his hometown after a U.S. soldier killed by extremists overseas."
Biggs, who recently came under fire for tweeting that Donald Trump's indictment had put the country in a "war phase," launched a competing bid for House Speaker during the fight over the votes to give McCarthy the chair — a fight that only ended after he agreed to major rules changes benefiting the far-right fringe, including the near-unlimited ability to call a vote to remove McCarthy from office.
For now, noted the report, Biggs says he's not going to challenge the speaker — but has left the door open.
"Biggs told POLITICO last month that he couldn’t 'think of a scenario in which I would' move to force a House vote on the so-called 'motion to vacate the chair,' which would effectively amount to ejecting the speaker. It would require a 'remarkable' provocation for him to propose that vote on McCarthy’s future, Biggs said," said the report.
"His definition of that word, though, is subjective and therefore impossible to pin down. And Biggs, who fielded calls from Republicans seeking advice about whether to try to eject McCarthy during the right flank’s recent debt-deal revolt, said in another recent interview that the speaker’s bipartisan agreement was 'remarkably' bad — a word choice that did not appear lost on Biggs.