Several House Republicans have made no secret that they are dissatisfied with the actions other Republicans have taken, but one of the more moderate members of the House has also made it clear that he doesn’t want former President Donald Trump involved in the election of a new Speaker of the House.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) appeared on CNN Max with anchor Jim Sciutto on Thursday, who asked the Republican member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus if he supported the idea of Trump as House Speaker. (As someone who has been indicted on felony charges, he can’t.) His answer was blunt after he was diplomatic:
Sciutto: Do you want Trump to come to the Capitol?
Lawler: Look, we’ve never had a speaker that’s been elected that is not a member of the House. I think the choice for speaker will be someone who is currently a member of Congress, and I think these discussions should be among the members. We have a lot to deal with in the coming days in choosing a new speaker.
I think there really needs to be a reckoning within the conference on what occurred and how we move forward to do the work of the American people. And, you know, I think it’s frankly, a blunt conversation that needs to occur if we’re going to get to 218 and choose a speaker to move forward and get to the work of the American people.
Sciutto: Ok. To be clear, you do not want Trump to come?
Lawler: Look, I think– no, I think the discussion should be focused on the people that are in the conference. I think we need to have a very blunt and direct conversation. I think the candidate that will ultimately be chosen as speaker is going to come out of the conference. So I think that’s where the conversation needs to be focused.
Lawler has made several media appearances since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Just yesterday, he appeared on MSNBC to call the eight Republicans who voted to vacate the speakership “useful idiots” who were doing the bidding of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), whom Lawler previously called a “charlatan” and a “joke.”
Watch the video above via CNN Max.
