Nearly 50 members of the House GOP have appeared on CNN this week, as the network covers the ongoing race for the Speaker’s gavel on Capitol Hill.
Since Tuesday, a total of 42 Republicans had appeared on CNN’s various news programs as of Thursday, the network reported citing an internal count, with more booked to appear on Friday.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) remains locked in a battle for the House Speakership this week, having come up short of the 218 votes he needs more than 10 times with little sign of progress toward a deal in sight.
An uptick in the number of Republicans appearing on CNN is to be expected given how the Speaker’s race has dominated headlines this week, but it comes on the heels of major change at CNN under its news editorial leadership.
New network president Chris Licht, who took over last summer, has spoken openly about his desire to change the perception of CNN and its programming in a bid to appeal to a wider array of audiences. Licht also takes over at CNN as it struggles to rebound from a prolonged period of sluggish ratings.
Many House Republicans have also appeared on other cable networks covering the chaos, including Fox News and MSNBC. Notably, both Fox’s Sean Hannity and MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle pressed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) this week about her efforts in leading a group of hard-line conservatives in blocking McCarthy’s bid for the Speakership.
One anti-McCarthy Republican, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), nearly missed casting his vote against McCarthy on Thursday, because he was participating in a live interview on Fox.
Under former network President Jeff Zucker, CNN had developed a reputation among critics as being at times overly sensational or combative in its coverage of former President Trump and Republicans.
Licht has on several occasions pushed back on speculation that he wants to see the network become more politically centrist.
“You have to be compelling. You have to have edge. In many cases you take a side. Sometimes you just point out uncomfortable questions,” he said in an interview late last year. “But either way you don’t see it through a lens of left or right.”