On Tuesday, members of Congress saw firsthand what Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs can accomplish or thwart when he sets his mind to it, when they tried and failed to elect a Speaker of the House. Biggs led the successful effort to prevent Republican leader Kevin McCarthy from becoming House Speaker.
While McCarthy had committed to “battle on the floor” for as long as it takes for him to become Speaker, Arizonans who have served with and by Biggs believe that McCarthy is fighting an indefatigable foe.
Biggs was joined by fellow Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar and Rep.-elect Eli Crane in opposing McCarthy through the three rounds of voting. Rep. Debbie Lesko, David Schweikert, and Rep.-elect Juan Ciscomani voted for McCarthy.
“Not going anywhere for a while?” #snickers #HFC pic.twitter.com/31xfE9vkY9
— Eli Crane (@EliCrane_CEO) January 3, 2023
Support for the “establishment’ McCarthy from Ciscomani and Schweikert surprised no one, although Lesko’s support was more unexpected.
Lesko was elected in a tough special election in 2018 over two more conservative opponents, then State Senator Steve Montenegro and State Representative Phil Lovas, largely because Biggs personally intervened and convinced Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows to endorse Lesko and spend Freedom Caucus PAC money to elect her.
Lesko’s betrayal on Tuesday was not lost on her constituents.
Gosar, on the other hand, seemed to mesmerize the twittersphere when screenshots of him and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) chatting during the early votes were shared on the platform.
Gosar later explained the AOC encounter in a tweet: “We actually talked about the problem of the prior speakerships having too much authority and thus minimizing each member’s potential contribution to the House debate.
We actually talked about the problem of the prior speakerships having too much authority and thus minimizing each member's potential contribution to the House debate. https://t.co/mOeoTCTDVW
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) January 3, 2023
As president of the Arizona Senate, Biggs earned a reputation for blocking bad bills and, working with then House Speaker David Gowan, ran a very efficient Legislature that included one of the shorter sessions in modern history. Biggs also served as Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus in Congress.
Voting on a new Speaker is expected to resume in the next day or two.
Listen to Biggs discuss his plans with KFYI’s James T. Harris
AZ Congressman Andy Biggs discusses the vote for the Speaker of the House and the backlash coming from resistance a https://t.co/kEfSgjLVeK
— James T Harris (@JamesTHarris) January 3, 2023