Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) laid into the small group of Republican legislators throughout a number of interviews held this past Wednesday for their attempts at blocking the bid from Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from taking the gavel of the House Speaker.
The group of Republicans actively choosing to stand against the bid from McCarthy included Reps. Dan Bishop (NC), Lauren Boebert (CO), Byron Donalds (FL), Josh Brecheen (OK), Mike Cloud (TX), Andrew Clyde (GA), Eli Crane (AZ), Matt Gaetz (FL), Bob Good (VA), Paul Gosar (AZ), Andy Harris (MD), Anna Paulina Luna (FL), Mary Miller (IL), Ralph Norman (SC), Andy Ogles (TN), Scott Perry (PA), Matt Rosendale (MT), Chip Roy (TX), Keith Self (TX), and Andy Biggs (AZ).
While speaking to the press, Crenshaw fully unloaded on the group of 20 legislators, stating, “I’m tired of your stupid platitudes that some consultant told you to say on the campaign trail, alright.”
“Behind closed doors tell us what you actually want, or shut the f**** up,” he exclaimed. “They need to be men and adults and say what they want, instead of playing these little games, that’s what we’re asking.”
“That’s what I’ve asked them. Some of them are my friends. Stop saying platitudes like, ‘Washington is broken. We can’t do the status quo,’” he added. “They want to pull the pins on the grenades and lock the doors.”
“They want to pull the pins on the grenades and lock the doors,” he said of the effort.
— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) January 4, 2023
“I think the 20 holdouts are continuing to show themselves to be unbelievably unserious. Now they’re just choosing random people. They don’t have a plan. It’s almost like they want to make the point that they don’t have a plan,” he stated. “They have zero ability to articulate what they want that would cause them to vote yes. It is utterly confusing, and then they get mad at us for criticizing, it’s actually quite hilarious the self-victimization that occurs.”
Crenshaw later issued another passionate and fiery interview with Guy Benson, a host for Fox News Radio, in which he called out the group of 20 Republicans’ lack of preparation and planning for any possible alternative that wanted to back instead of voting for McCarthy.
“They had no plan. They have some list of demands that mostly have been met,” he stated. “They basically closed all the doors and pulled the pins on the grenades and are staring at each other like, what the hell do we do? Everyone is trying to work with them in good faith to give them an offramp, because this is a terrible situation for them personally. They are responsible for holding up a GOP agenda. They could be responsible for Democrats pulling some really clever deals, maybe forcing a plurality vote, maybe potentially getting a rules package the Democrats want.”
“Then they insulted Donald Trump. Did you hear that part earlier?” stated Crenshaw. “Lauren Boebert, and you know, because she’s really served this country, so she gets up and she basically tells Donald Trump to eff off. That’s what she just did. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I just couldn’t believe it.”
When questioned as to if nominating another candidate for Speaker would alter the dynamic at all, Crenshaw stated that it would not, which was exactly why “we can’t give in.”
“And so those of us who are standing against this, we’re standing for principle. They are standing for notoriety,” he concluded. “They’re standing for that extra news because nobody ever cares about them and they’re frustrated by that.”
