Dan Crenshaw: Republicans opposing McCarthy are 'petty'
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, calls out Republicans who refuse to support Kevin McCarthy for speaker
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, slammed Republicans refusing to support Rep. Kevin McCarthy for House speaker, arguing some lawmakers are doing so for "petty personal issues" or "petty attempts to gain notoriety."
Crenshaw joined "Fox & Friends" Tuesday ahead of the House vote, arguing opposing Republicans' concerns "have nothing to do with the conservative agenda" and is a move for "more airtime."
"You've got these members who just showed who they are," Crenshaw said. "No one knows what their goal is. They say their goal is some noble cause for the cause of conservatism, for the people, for holding the swamp accountable. These are the phrases that they'll use to make themselves seem like they're some white knights out there to save you. Of course, none of this is true. None of this is true whatsoever."
KEVIN MCCARTHY FLOATS CONCESSION ON ALLOWING CONSERVATIVES TO REMOVE HOUSE SPEAKER
In this April 22, 2021, file photo, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks during his weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
McCarthy is still tussling with some members of his party who are concerned electing him to be speaker would be a "continuation of past and ongoing Republican failures."
GOP Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Chip Roy of Texas, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Harris of Maryland and Andrew Clyde of Georgia, along with Rep.-elects Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Eli Crane of Arizona sent a letter expressing their concerns.
"Regrettably, however, despite some progress achieved, Mr. McCarthy’s statement comes almost impossibly late to address continued deficiencies ahead of the opening of the 118th Congress on January 3rd," the letter stated. "At this state, it cannot be a surprise that expressions of vague hopes reflected in far too many of the crucial points still under debate are insufficient. This is especially true with respect to Mr. McCarthy’s candidacy for speaker because the times call for radical departure from the status quo – not a continuation of past and ongoing, Republican failures."
Crenshaw criticized these Republicans, saying this "showmanship" makes the GOP look "foolish."
"Their demands are inside baseball procedural issues. That's what they are. Their demands are things that the average American doesn't care about at all," Crenshaw said.
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Crenshaw argued Republicans need to come together to elect McCarthy in order to get to work on conservative priorities, including border security and economic issues.
Crenshaw said the Republicans opposing McCarthy "have no plan" for anyone else to be speaker and even if they did, there are "a ton of Republicans who will not vote for them."
Crenshaw concluded that these few Republicans are "enabling Democrats."
"The only person you're empowering are the Democrats. The Democrats are cheering. The Democrats are so happy that this is all happening because these guys and these girls wanted to make this happen," Crenshaw said.
Fox News' Greg Wehner and Tyler Olson contributed to this report
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