Christie to Newsmax: McCarthy's Ouster Bad Look for GOP

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, told Newsmax on Wednesday that House Republicans voting with Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House Speaker is bad for the party.

"It doesn't make Republicans look good around the country that after nine months we're sending the speaker out the door," Christie said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "Folks are nervous about our economy, they're nervous about the fact that we essentially have an absentee president in the White House who doesn't look like he knows what's going on half the time, and we need to get this resolved."

Christie continued: "I don't know why we had to wait a week to resolve this. They all know each other quite well. I think they should have gotten together, made a choice and gotten back to work, but it is what it is. All the names you're hearing are possibilities.

"[Rep.] Steve Scalise [R-La.], I would think, would be the front-runner for it, but we need to see how his health is. Obviously, he's dealing with some serious health issues, and only he knows how that's going. I think [Rep.] Tom Emmer [R-Minn.] is another guy, [Rep.] Jim Jordan [R-Ohio] is another guy who would be considered."

McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday by a handful of conservatives and many Democrats after his chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., forced the vote on the "motion to vacate." McCarthy ally Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., was named speaker pro tempore, to serve in the office until a new speaker is chosen.

Christie said the actions of Gaetz, and those who voted with him to oust McCarthy, were  no better than what they were protesting.

"They were complaining because Kevin McCarthy teamed with some Democrats to pass a 45-day spending bill," Christie said. "They teamed with the Democrats to kick the speaker out. I don't know how that's any better, if not worse, than to get in league with the Democrats."

Christie also said he hopes that the GOP can unite around a single speaker candidate within the next week, "for our country's sake, first and foremost."

"We need an effective, cohesive Republican majority in the House to stop the crazy things that [President] Joe Biden and [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] want to do to the country," Christie said. "So, I hope that we do that, and I hope they get behind someone, and I hope they don't make them comport to all the crazy rules that they made Kevin comport with. I think Kevin was doomed from the beginning in this respect.

"When you take the job under those circumstances, you're always right on the edge, and I don't think he ever got off the edge, and they pushed him over the edge yesterday. I've known Kevin for a long time. I like him. I think he did some good things in the nine months that he was there, but you know what? We need to get somebody now who has the support of the majority of the caucus, if that's possible, to get us to 218 and to get somebody who can actually govern."

• Breaking Down GOP's Gang of 8 That Ousted Speaker McCarthy
• Matt Gaetz to Newsmax: McCarthy Broke Promises Made in January