Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) is advocating to expand the powers of Speaker Pro-Tempore Patrick McHenry in a bid to “get on with the business of the American people.”
In an X post, Gimenez wrote, “We need to empower our Speaker Pro-Tempore, Republican Patrick McHenry, and get on with the business of the American people while the House GOP decides who the next Speaker should be.”
NEW: We need to empower our Speaker Pro-Tempore, Republican Patrick McHenry, and get on with the business of the American people while the @HouseGOP decides who the next Speaker should be. pic.twitter.com/RmMSAfGREG
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) October 18, 2023
In an interview with CNN News Central’s Boris Sanchez, Gimenez urged for a boost in McHenry’s authority to move legislation while the GOP remains undecided on its next Speaker.
Kevin McCarthy chose McHenry as Speaker Pro Tempore earlier this year and was appointed this month after he was ousted as speaker. The Speaker Pro-Tempore is a constitutional position that temporarily fills in for the Speaker of the House.
Traditionally, the Speaker Pro-Tempore lacks the kind of legislative clout that the Speaker wields, precisely to avoid the concentration of power in the hands of a single, temporary role.
Expanding the powers of this position is not only unusual but sets a dangerous precedent. It means effectively sidelining conservatives and could lead to an agenda that does not represent the will of the broader conservative base.
According to Gimenez, the expansion of powers for McHenry is about moving forward with “the business of the American people.” But who exactly are these “American people” that Gimenez is referring to? If they are the conservative base that voted these Republicans into office, it’s unlikely they’d want to see power handed over to a moderate who may not reflect their principles.
Boris Sanchez: So you mentioned that McHenry is still backing Jim Jordan. It doesn’t appear that just based on the votes, that a majority of Republicans are right now in favor of expanding McHenry’s powers, you could potentially get there by courting Democrats. Is that something you’re willing to do, make some sort of deal with Democrats to go that route and get the House open again?
Carlos Gimenez: I want our leader right now, our speaker designee, to make that move. I think he needs to put that forward so that it’s a clear signal that that’s what he wants to do. If he wants to continue this fight, I guess to become the speaker and then hold up America’s business. That tells me something about Jim Jordan also. And so I would expect for him to let’s we know we have issues here, but we need to get America’s business rolling via Republican agenda moving, and so we need to give speaker designee McHenry more powers. I expect that from him, not this whole thing. Do we have to work with Democrats? I don’t think we have to. And the only reason we would have to is somehow he’s blocking that effort.
We must put America first and empower our Speaker Pro-Tempore until the @HouseGOP can agree on who the next Speaker of the House should be. pic.twitter.com/V4Nr4cyW6j
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) October 18, 2023
The post Here We Go… RINO Carlos Gimenez is Pushing to Expand the Powers of Speaker Pro-Tempore Patrick McHenry (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.