WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) released the following statement following two rounds of voting for Speaker of the House. The House has still yet to elect a Speaker following the removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Congressman Valadao supports a resolution introduced today by Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH) that would empower Speaker Pro-Tempore Patrick McHenry to act as Speaker of the House through January 3, 2024.

“For the last two weeks, we have been unable to work on funding the government, securing the border, or supporting our ally Israel because 8 Republicans joined with every single House Democrat to bring our government to a halt,” said Congressman Valadao. “Each day that passes without a Speaker of the House is a national security risk. I voted for the Republican Conference’s nominee for Speaker because we must get back to work, and we cannot do that until we have a Speaker.

“After today’s votes, it is clear that the current candidates do not have the support necessary to become Speaker. We do not have more time to waste, which is why I support empowering Speaker Pro-Tempore Patrick McHenry so we can immediately reopen the House while we work to find consensus. I remain disappointed with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have put politics and personalities over our responsibility to govern. My constituents sent me to Washington to work in their best interest, and I’ll continue to do that no matter who holds the Speaker’s gavel.”

Background:

Congressman Valadao supported Kevin McCarthy as Speaker through 15 rounds of votes in January and continued to support him when the motion to vacate was brought against him two weeks ago. Eight Republicans and 208 Democrats voted to remove Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership on October 3rd. Since then, the Republican Conference has held several conference meetings to try to find consensus on a Speaker candidate. On October 11th, Majority Leader Steve Scalise won the conference’s support in a closed-door ballot, but due to opposition from the minority of the conference a vote on Speaker-designee Scalise never made it to the House Floor. On October 13^th, Representative Jim Jordan won the conference’s support in a closed-door ballot by a narrow margin. The full House voted on Jim Jordan’s candidacy for Speaker on October 17^th. Congressman Valadao supported Jim Jordan through the first two rounds of voting. 

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