House GOP speaker fight ‘embarrassed’ the nation, ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent claims

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House GOP speaker fight ‘embarrassed’ the nation, ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent claims

"60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl lectured Americans on Sunday, arguing that the GOP speaker battle was "historic chaos" and an embarrassment for the U.S.

"60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl lectured Americans on Sunday, arguing that the fight for speaker among congressional Republicans was "historic chaos" and an embarrassment for the U.S. 

"The historic chaos in the House of Representatives this past week embarrassed not only a party, but an entire nation," Stahl declared. 

California Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy won his rocky bid for House speaker on Jan. 7 after five days of debate. 

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In Oct. 2020, then-President Trump sat down with "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl for an interview he later dubbed a "vicious attempted takeout."  (CBS 60 Minutes)

The 20 GOP holdouts — a group that some critics mockingly called the "Taliban 20" — refused to vote for McCarthy until he granted their requests for votes on bills relating to border security and abortion, among other issues. 

Stahl expressed her disbelief at the process of debate in the House. 

"A small minority blocked the House from electing a leader, or even swearing in its own members."

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Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., walks back to his seat after speaking with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., after Gaetz voted "present" in the House chamber as the House meets for the fourth day to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

She continued: "Vote after vote of would-be speaker could not bring themselves to stand aside in favor of a colleague." 

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. and even former President Donald Trump were all floated as possible replacements for McCarthy in the speaker race. 

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Dean of the House Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., swears in Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House Speaker on the House floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, early Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

But Stahl, a vocal critic of Trump and a longtime CBS correspondent dating back to the Carter and Reagan years, acknowledged that the so-called "chaos" in the House of Representatives lasted for "only for a few days in January." 

She also claimed that the speaker battle in Congress calls into doubt Republicans' competence at governing. 

"But if members of the incoming majority party can’t bring themselves to support a new leader," Stahl added, "then one wonders what happens when Congress faces tough decisions on budgets, taxes, defense or raising the debt ceiling: actually governing." 

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.

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