WATCH: Livid House Republican Goes Ballistic On CNN Over Children Dragging Out Speaker Chaos
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) is not usually described as a “firebrand” among his fellow members of Congress, but he was full of spit and vinegar when he spoke to CNN’s Manu Raju in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Rep. Jim Jordan’s attempt to run for Speaker of the House, calling out his GOP colleagues who instigated this mess.
The slim majority Republicans have in the House has led to an ongoing struggle for power, as hardliners like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) demanded concessions from Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) before they finally let him claim the gavel on the fifteenth round of voting — only to oust him mere months later.
Since then, the House GOP caucus has done its best impression of a raging dumpster fire, with Jordan being the latest to flop in his run for speaker, failing in — count ’em, one, two, three — consecutive floor votes (and losing support each round as fellow Republicans denounced the strong-arm tactics from Jordan allies) before a closed-door caucus vote ordered him to stop trying to make fetch happen.
Raju, CNN’s chief congressional correspondent, was waiting in the Capitol hallways as the GOP caucus meeting disbanded, and caught Johnson to hear his thoughts about the “very chaotic moment” where the Republicans voted Jordan should end his bid for the speakership.
Johnson declined to share details about the GOP’s internal discussions, but said he would discuss “what needs to happen next,” predicting “a couple more days of chaos.”
He then lit into his colleagues whose ouster of McCarthy had created “yet another void” in leadership for the House:
To me, it reminds me how incredibly irresponsible it was for 208 Democrats and 8 Republicans to put this House into absolute chaos, without any kind of a plan for how we were going to move forward. Now, we really do need, we really do need somebody to step forward, somebody who is mission driven, somebody who is focused on doing something rather than just being something. Blind ambition has distorted this process enough. We need to go find a leader.
…Let’s be clear, [South Carolina Rep.] Nancy Mace, it’s been a long time since she’s done anything productive to move forward this broader team. America has got real problems, and this is a time where we need people who are interested in problem solving, not self-aggrandizement.
And it’s frustrating. I think most of us know whether you come from South Dakota or South Carolina or Washington State there are always going to be people who are more interested in themselves rather than the team. And I think Americans are sick of it. And I know most members of the House are sick of it. It is time for big boys and big girls to stop with the nonsense and get back to work for the United States.
Raju asked Johnson what he thought would happen now, and the congressman replied he thought they needed “to take a little time to decompress from what was a difficult environment, and we will need to have some people to do some soul searching, I think we will need to find some people who never thought of themselves in this way, somebody who has not spent five or ten years trying to become Speaker of the House. We need to find somebody who, frankly, understands that this may well be the last opportunity they have to serve in politics. We have dealt ourselves an incredibly difficult hand.”
Johnson added that he did think there were House Republicans who could get the votes, and he was hoping and believing someone would step up soon.
As Raju moved down the hallway to find other members to interview, he commented to the CNN audience that Johnson was clearly “very, very frustrated” and “just furious” with the Republicans who ousted McCarthy, a departure from his usual “even-keeled” personality.
Watch above via CNN.
