Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Incoming GOP Oversight Chair Predicts How Long McCarthy Will Be Speaker

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Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said that Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy would not face “any serious threat” to his position Monday.

The House of Representatives elected McCarthy speaker on the 15th ballot early Saturday morning after offering concessions on rules changes, legislative votes and other matters to a group of holdouts mostly from the House Freedom Caucus. McCarthy received 216 votes to 212 for Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries with six Republicans voting “present.”

“I don’t believe that there will ever be any serious threat to Kevin McCarthy’s speakership,” Comer told “America’s Newsroom” hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer. “If Kevin McCarthy ever did something so bad that there would be a threat to him vacating the chair, I think we would meet as a conference, we would iron it out and, you know, take action accordingly as a conference.”

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“I’m confident Kevin McCarthy will be speaker for the next two years,” Comer said, adding that it would make it easier for House Republicans to handle “tough votes.”

The House of Representatives scheduled a vote on rules Monday evening that will govern the body for the next two years, Fox News reported. Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas tweeted Friday he would vote against the package.

“I hope that it was a learning experience for everyone. I hope it was a learning experience for the 20, you know, I believe that they could have declared victory a couple of days prior to Saturday morning,” Comer said.

“I think we need to learn when to declare victory. I think it was a good lesson for McCarthy and the leadership team to understand and — and to make sure that they have the votes prior to big major bill coming on the floor before a deadline,” Comer continued. “So I think it was a learning experience for the entire conference.”