Gingrich Says Conservatives Are Blackmailing McCarthy

New Gingrich points out that the longest speaker election in House history was “when Nathaniel Banks was chosen in 1855 after 133 ballots. That agonizing fight took two months of voting. Imagine the C-SPAN audience it would have generated.”

“So, now, we have a new struggle between Speaker-designate Kevin McCarthy and the handful of members who are trying to take advantage of the narrow Republican majority by blackmailing their colleagues to get their way.”

“I use the word blackmailers deliberately. They are trying to exploit the vulnerability of their House Republican colleagues to get what they want – even if it is not what the rest of the conference wants. They are not just shaking down McCarthy, they are shaking down their fellow House members who voted for him.”