Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who has served his state as a congressman for 10 terms, on Sunday said his fellow lawmakers were being "embarrassing" for failing to elect a speaker to the House.
"This is probably one of the most embarrassing things I've seen," McCaul told ABC News' "This Week," "because if we don't have a speaker of the House, we can't govern. And every day goes by, we're essentially shut down as a government."
"We have very important issues right now, war and peace, and we cannot deal with an aid package or my resolution condemning Hamas and supporting Israel," McCaul added. "We can't do that."
Immediately following the congressman's comment, host Jonathan Karl asked McCaul who he would back for speaker. McCaul replied he hadn't made up his mind.
"I haven't decided," McCaul replied, "but I want a speaker in the chair so we can move forward and cover my issues, my committee of war and peace."
"It's too dangerous right now," the congressman continued. "The world's on fire. This is so dangerous what we're doing.
"And most importantly, it's embarrassing because it empowers and emboldens our adversaries like Chairman Xi [Jinping] who says, you know, Democracy doesn't work."
Though Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, held steady on or around 200 bids for speaker, after three failed vote attempts to reach the 217 needed on Friday, according to The Hill, the House GOP conference voted by secret ballot, resulting in the withdrawal of support for Jordan.
When asked about working with Democrats, McCaul responded, "I'd rather it be the Republicans nominating and voting on the floor for a Republican speaker, but this can't go on forever. I don't know if we're going to have a speaker next week. I don't know how this plays out."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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