GOP Rep. Harris on Holding Out Against McCarthy: ‘I Wish It Had Been Worked Out a Month Ago, So We Would Have Avoided All This’

“So, you were among 14 who did make that switch,” FNC host Neil Cavuto said. “And, obviously, you were very, very hard. You got a lot of things that Kevin McCarthy had said no to in the past, including the power of a single member to oust a speaker. If it ever came to that, much more power for the conservative caucus right now to get a role, the Freedom Caucus, as it’s known, on the Rules Committee that sets legislative agenda. I could go on. But it seems like you guys got pretty much all that you wanted at face value. And that was enough to move 14 of the 20, save these individuals. Do I have that right?”

“Yes, this was a very comprehensive agreement,” Harris replied. “Look, I wish it had been worked out a month ago, so we would have avoided all this. But it was a comprehensive agreement that I think is — there are a lot of members really on both sides of this question who look at this list and say, yes, voting — having a bill only on a single subject, having amendments that are only germane to the original issue, releasing all the January 6 documents, things like that, or ending this COVID emergency that’s causing us to spend billions of dollars, these are all good things.”

“I think they’re all in the final agreement,” he added. “This is going to be — again, that’s hammered out. And I think they’re good for the country. I think they’re very good for the body. And I think they are the path that will get Mr. McCarthy the speakership.”

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