RNC chairwoman says GOP ‘can’t afford’ House Speakership race taking ‘too long’

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel implied Friday that her party “cannot afford” for House Speaker race to last “too long.”

“I don’t think our country can afford that to take too long, and I think it’s bad for our party,” McDaniel said on Fox News. “I also hope they get rid of this motion to vacate. We cannot have another chaotic turnover of Speaker before next year’s election and think it’s not gonna impact our results.”

Her comments follow a chaotic few weeks in the House — featuring fights over government spending as a possible government shutdown loomed and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) being ousted from his leadership role Tuesday.

McDaniel added that she thinks the two most prominent contenders for the Speakership, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), are “both up to the task.” 

“They’ll do a great job,” McDaniel said. “But the longer this takes, the worse it is for us. So I hope, they do it privately.”

“Let’s not have leaks. Let’s make sure we come out united,” she added.

McDaniel previously spoke about GOP infighting within the lower chamber earlier this week. She said she doesn’t know how it will help the party defeat President Biden in 2024.

“I think every Republican right now has to wake up every day and say, ‘How does this help us beat the Democrats in November? What headline do we need today?’” she said Wednesday on Fox Business.

“Anytime we’re fighting with each other, we’re taking away from our message against Joe Biden,” she later added. “We’re about a year out from a critical election where we have a great Senate map, we’ve got to hold the House, and we can win the White House.”

McDaniel added that the headlines being about Republicans fighting and not Biden’s policies is “not good.”

“The headlines today aren’t about the border, they’re not about the failure of Bidenomics, they’re not about fentanyl. It’s about Republican Party infighting. It is not good,” she said.