This month, Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was elected Speaker of the House in a record-setting 15 consecutive ballots. During the voting, talks between liberal RINO Republicans and conservative Republicans were intense, but some Republicans argue it was precisely what was needed to bring problems to the forefront that had stagnated due to the disagreement between the two sections of the Republican party. McCarthy was voted into the position of leadership following the conclusion of the negotiations and the voting.
One of the distinctions between the two factions of Republicans is the MAGA conservative opinion that the 2020 election across the country was riddled with fraud and deception, as proven by the numerous lawsuits now pending in several states addressing election processes. The Supreme Court of Georgia has recently remanded a case to a lower court in order to be settled.
The Republicans and Speaker McCarthy believe that in the future, both the Capitol and the floor of Congress should be more transparent.
McCarthy has promised to reveal the surveillance footage from the disturbance on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol Building, according to Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, both of whom are members of the Republican Party.
During a Friday evening interview on Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson’s prime-time program, Gaetz said that the new speaker promised to do so as part of a bargain to secure his and Boebert’s support, two of around 20 Republicans who withheld their support for days, denying him the speaker’s gavel.
“The American people deserve to know the truth about what happened on January 6th. We have demanded to see all the footage. Transparency is coming,” Gaetz said. “Every time from the JFK files, to 9/11, to now January 6th. It’s our own government, our own Department of Justice that seems to stand in the way of transparency.”
WATCH:
The American people deserve to know the truth about what happened on January 6th.
We have demanded to see all the footage.
Transparency is coming. pic.twitter.com/C2jAo6yl0P
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 14, 2023
He also reiterated his demand for more CSPAN cameras on the House floor.
“If we had cameras on the floor, my suspicion is we would have far better attendance during debates that impact the lives of our fellow Americans,” he said.
Boebert added on Twitter: “Speaker McCarthy says he’ll be releasing ALL the footage from January 6th. Considering all the public has seen are edited clips from a bunch of Democrats with an axe to grind, it sure will be nice to get some unbiased footage.”
Speaker McCarthy says he’ll be releasing ALL the footage from January 6th.
Considering all the public has seen are edited clips from a bunch of Democrats with an axe to grind, it sure will be nice to get some unbiased footage.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 14, 2023
The Associated Press reported on the controversy surrounding Gaetz when the Florida Republican congressman voted “present” and first denied McCarthy’s triumph by one vote during a late Friday evening session.
“It took a loss by a razor-thin margin in a late-night Round 14, a heated exchange with one of his sternest opponents, and a near-adjournment of the House till Monday to break a logjam unseen since before the Civil War,” the Associated Press reported after the 15th round of balloting. “The final tally that put him over the top: 216 for McCarthy, 212 for Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries and 6 simply ‘present,’” the outlet reported.
A video clip of a frustrated
🚨 BREAKING: Matt Gaetz votes present, leaving Kevin McCarthy one vote short of being confirmed as Speaker.
McCarthy is NOT happy 😂pic.twitter.com/dWcDjTQAVo
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) January 7, 2023
The newswire noted further:
“All day Friday, McCarthy had been inching ever closer to taking up the gavel as he won over multiple diehard conservative critics and resistors. McCarthy, who flipped 15 colleagues to supporters in dramatic votes on Friday afternoon, returned to the chamber at 10 p.m. ET with hopes high that he’d woo enough additional hardliners to put him over the top.
But then came a surprising loss, with him snagging 216 votes, just one shy of the 217 needed to get a House majority after two colleagues, Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz, merely voted “present.”