The decision by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to resign in October will force a new election for House speaker in the coming weeks, and two names are already coming to mind.
One is House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the presumptive front-runner given that he’s the number two Republican in the House. The other is Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., who some might forget has already run for House speaker, and said Friday he would run again.
“My goal is for the House of Representatives to be based on principle, not on power,” he said. “Every member of Congress deserves a seat at the table to be involved in the process. I will continue fighting for this to become a reality in Washington, and will be running for Speaker of the House.”
Back in January, when the new Congress convened, members continued the tradition of standing up in the House chamber to declare who they support as speaker. Webster was one of three Republicans who ran against Boehner.
Webster only got 12 votes, but that made him the clear choice for opponents of Boehner. The other two candidates, Reps. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Ted Yoho, R-Fla., got just 3 and 2 votes, respectively.
Webster was cited by many observers that day as someone to watch in the future, and maybe, the future is in just a few weeks.
Earlier in the day, the congressman hedged on whether he’d run for the speaker’s seat, but hinted that he might soon announce something.
“Yesterday was the pope’s day; today is Speaker Boehner’s day. Tomorrow is another day,” Webster said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
But late Friday, Webster told Sean Hannity’s radio show that he would run for speaker.
Webster seems to have the support of many of the House conservatives who want Boehner out. In January, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., voted for Webster. Meadows is the member who recently introduced a resolution declaring the speaker’s chair is vacated, a move widely seen as another sign of frustration with Boehner’s leadership.
Other Republicans who voted for Webster were Reps. Rod Blum of Iowa, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Walter Jones of North Carolina, Steve King of Iowa, Richard Nugent of Florida, Bill Posey of Florida, Scott Rigell of Virginia, and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. Webster also voted for himself.
Thirteen other members also voted for people other than Boehner or Webster: Justin Amash of Michigan, Brian Babin of Texas, Dave Brat of Virginia, Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma, Curt Clawson of Florida, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Chris Gibson of New York, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Randy Weber of Texas, and Reps. Gohmert, Massie and Yoho.
