CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Congressman Daniel Webster on Speaker of the House Race
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BLITZER: All right. Everyone stand by. We're getting more on the breaking news.
Joining us now, Republican Congressman Daniel Webster of Florida. He has been -- he wants to be the next speaker of the House. He's been endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus, an influential group of very conservative lawmakers.
Congressman, are you still running for speaker?
REP. DANIEL WEBSTER (R), FLORIDA: I am. Great to be on.
BLITZER: What did you think of McCarthy's dropping out?
WEBSTER: I was shocked. I don't think anybody expected that. I think he definitely put something on us that we weren't expecting when we walked into the room.
[17:30:00] BLITZER: Why do you think he dropped out?
WEBSTER: I don't know why he dropped out because we just had a -- we had a member session where all the members came together and we and myself and the other two candidates were there, Kevin was there. And he was passionate about it. This was just an hour and a half before he announced he wasn't going to do it.
BLITZER: So something happened obviously that convinced him. How many votes do you think you had? Because as you know he could get the majority among House Republicans, but the question is when it comes up for a formal vote at the end of the month you presumably didn't have enough to get the 218 you need. Is that the reason?
WEBSTER: I don't know if that's the reason. I felt like he had certainly the majority of the votes. I did believe that.
BLITZER: You think Paul Ryan is going to run for speaker against you?
WEBSTER: That I do not know. I'm really not engaged with personalities. I'm working on what I believe to be a process problem that I have with the House. It's power based. I want it to be principle based. I did it in Florida when I was speaker there. And I know we can do it here. Makes everything different and the members engage themselves far more than they do under the current system.
BLITZER: Congressman, Dana Bash has a question for you.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Congressman. Nice to talk to you again.
WEBSTER: Hey.
BASH: In the hallway earlier today you were saying that even you, a competitor to Kevin McCarthy up until a few hours ago, you thought it was what 99 percent sure that he would be the speaker. Talk about that, and also about if that's the case, why were you running against him?
WEBSTER: Well, it's just a matter of votes. And I was trying to get as many votes as I possibly could. And I had quite a few. But in the end the numbers are the telltale. But it didn't change the fact that I believe that we have a broken system. I think the public believes that having everything decided at the top of a pyramid of power by a few people doesn't work. And all I wanted to do is get the message out.
And I'd like to serve as speaker to show -- because I did it there in Florida, we pushed down that pyramid of power, spread out the base, so every single member could be a player.
BLITZER: Could you support Paul Ryan, Congressman, as speaker of the House? Would he be a good compromise candidate?
WEBSTER: Well, right now I'm a candidate for speaker. I don't plan on dropping out.
BLITZER: But -- the question is, could you support Paul Ryan?
WEBSTER: Instead of myself? Is that what you're asking?
BLITZER: Yes.
WEBSTER: No. I'm going to -- I would stay in the race.
BLITZER: Why are you better than Paul Ryan or Jason Chaffetz, for example?
WEBSTER: Well, I've done it before. I've been a speaker of a House, and not only that I've changed the way it worked, the public noticed. Our numbers flipped right side up instead of upside down on polling. And I believe it's what's best for this Congress. We -- our numbers languish at 10, 11, 12 percent approval. And I think we can change that. If we do by engaging all the members in the process.
BLITZER: Could you get all 247 Republicans to support you and keep that and try to get that Republican Party and the House, the Republican caucus as it's called, united?
WEBSTER: That would be phenomenal to get 247. But I'm certainly giving it all I've got.
BLITZER: Here's also something intriguing that emerged today. Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina, he raised questions in a letter earlier this week suggesting any candidate for the party's leadership speaker, majority leader, any of the leadership positions, in his words, what, committed any, quote, "misdeeds" since being elected to the House of Representatives should step down. Do you know what he's referring to?
WEBSTER: I am -- I do not know what he's referring to. To me like I said I'm not into judging someone else. I'm into one thing and that is I want to see a principle-based Congress replace the old power- based system that we have.
BLITZER: Since he's raised it, Congressman Walter Jones, have you committed any misdeeds since entering the House of Representatives?
WEBSTER: Maybe running for speaker. I'm not sure. But, no, I have not.
BLITZER: If you become speaker of the House, what would you do as far as funding for Planned Parenthood or extending raising the nation's debt? Would you be willing to go so far as to shut down the federal government to do -- to get those issues resolved from your perspective?
WEBSTER: Well, those questions are for the old power-based system where the top of the pyramid of power made all the decisions. My job as speaker is to unite us and let the committee structure and the committee work and the members use that process that we have here now and take the rules that we have and produce product. That would be up to them. It's up to the members. It's up to a majority vote on the floor. That's what I support.
I don't want to get trapped into these issues where we wait right until the last minute, the last end of the day. I want to take those important issues up first so we don't have this pressing deadlines all the time. And that's what I believe to be is a principle-based system.
[17:35:10] BLITZER: So you're not ruling out necessarily another government shutdown?
WEBSTER: No. I think we stay away from those by doing our work. And if we do our work up front, we don't even run into these government shutdown issues.
BLITZER: Congressman Daniel Webster of Florida, wants to be the next speaker of the House of Representatives. What an exciting day today up on Capitol Hill, Congressman. Thanks for joining us.
WEBSTER: Great to be on.
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