Rep. Andy Biggs throws US House of Representatives leadership into doubt

Rep. Andy Biggs led the effort Tuesday to block Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy from ascending to House speaker, plunging the chamber into a historic muddle with no clear favorite to guide the new GOP majority after three rounds of voting.

Biggs, R-Ariz., followed through on his long-promised challenge to McCarthy, R-Calif., and pulled in 10 votes from some of the most outspoken conservative members in the House, who had variously complained that McCarthy accommodated what they view as a political status quo.

The House adjourned without selecting a speaker after three rounds of voting Tuesday, with some of the GOP dissidents predicting their numbers would only grow. Members will reconvene Wednesday with McCarthy’s leadership future in doubt and Biggs’ reputation for an unflinching conservatism that sometimes frustrates his own party intact.

The GOP’s first day back in the majority in the House in four years ended with multiple rounds of voting on the speakership for the first time in 100 years.

2022:A year filled with moments we won’t forget … no matter how hard we try

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, emerged as the preferred alternative to McCarthy for 19 Republicans in the second round, drawing support from Biggs and other members, many of them part of the far-right House Freedom Caucus that Biggs led for two years.

For his part, Jordan nominated McCarthy in the second round and voted for him as well, even as Jordan picked up the support that initially went to Biggs.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., arrives for a closed-door meeting with the GOP Conference during opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.

House Democrats united behind Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who lacked the necessary majority to win the speaker’s gavel.

Three of Arizona’s six House Republicans contributed to the effort to oust McCarthy.

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., nominated Biggs for the speakership. Freshman Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., voted for Biggs in a move that quickly served notice to GOP leaders of his preferred direction for their party.

Biggs, Crane and Gosar voted for Jordan in the second and third ballots as well.

Story continues

Jan. 6 panel:Rep. Andy Biggs referred to House Ethics Committee over subpoena

In a tweet, Biggs blamed McCarthy for the prolonged selection process.

“Three ballots. Three losses for McCarthy. He is obstructing Congress from getting its legislative work done!” Biggs wrote.

It capped a day of unusual suspense and at least one surprising moment of apparent comity.

Gosar was spotted chatting with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

House Democrats stripped Gosar of his committee assignments in 2021 after he echoed on social media a violent animation that depicted him killing Ocasio-Cortez and taking aim at President Joe Biden.

On Tuesday, at least, they were united by their opposition to McCarthy as speaker.

The historic spectacle of a public, intraparty struggle played out after weeks of closed-door wrangling by McCarthy failed to win over enough votes to clinch a post he has sought for years.

Perhaps most notably, McCarthy reportedly agreed to support House rules that would ease challenges to the speaker’s reign, requiring only the support of five members to force a vote on such an effort.

2nd challenge:Rep. Andy Biggs plans to challenge Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House, again

Such concessions were not enough for conservative hardliners.

In a December fundraising email, Biggs set the tone for the fight that spilled into more public view on Tuesday.

He sought contributions from those who “agree a CONSERVATIVE should lead us in Washington … not another RINO Establishment hack like McCarthy.”

“Like most Establishment Republicans, he sees conservative voters like you and me as the real enemy…and he’ll stab us in the back every chance he gets,” Biggs wrote.

Entering his fourth term, Biggs has a long history of standing apart from most Republicans, whether it involved shutting down the U.S. government or funding Ukraine’s war with Russia.

As a member of the Arizona Legislature, Biggs memorably opposed expanding the state’s Medicaid program for children and expanding Medicare coverage to adults as part of former President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., listens as votes are cast for the next Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rep. Andy Biggs helps block Rep. Kevin McCarthy as US House speaker