'We have 8 people who are insane': Republican inside speaker vote bashes colleagues
WASHINGTON — Republicans are behind closed doors Wednesday trying to figure out how to get to electing a new Speaker of the House so they can navigate the impending demands of the war in Israel and a possible government shutdown.
Chatting with Raw Story about the progress of the vote, Rep. John Duarte (R-CA) confessed his frustration with far-right fringe members in an already conservative caucus.
"I think everybody wants to be normal," he began. "There's a rivalry, you know, two best friends running for school president. But there's nothing antagonistic happening."
Despite the right-leaning speaker options, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Duarte said either would be expected to keep on the same track as that set by ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
"The debt ceiling negotiation, the volley we put over there was very conservative, the compromise that was made, the Fiscal Responsibility Act was what we expect out of a divided government. We didn't — well, 96 percent of us who voted for Kevin McCarthy, there was no problem to solve. So, as Scalise and Jordan step in, really all they're doing is saying, 'Ok, I'm not that guy. But I'm going to keep doing what we've been doing.'"
But, he said, the eight GOP members who voted to oust McCarthy are the problem.
"It's — we have eight people who are insane," he continued.
When asked about the blowup between Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Duarte said that it seems personal.
While the Republicans were inside Wednesday, a casual Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) sauntered by in jeans.
When asked about the fight inside, Moskowitz said simply, "Don't ask me, they don't even know what they're doing! If they don't know what they're doing, how am I supposed to know what they're doing? Look, it's in Democrats' best interest to have a functioning Republican Party here. It's in America's interest to have a functioning Republican Party and all my friends and colleagues across the aisle can figure it out because otherwise we're going to have continued chaos."
"It's embarrassing for them," he continued.