Announcement By the Clerk

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern) as Speaker of the House.

Madam Clerk, we have been accused of not having a plan. Well, we have presented many plans and are even presenting two plans simultaneously right now for Speaker of the people's House.

I sat in my chair anticipating to vote for Byron Donalds, whom I respect, whom I see as a leader, and there was a gut check that said we need someone that is going to convince my colleagues on this side of the aisle that it is time to get going. It is time to build momentum.

Many of you have said it. You see that Kevin McCarthy does not have the votes. You are understanding that he is not going to get there.

We had the votes for him. I cannot produce those anymore. The colleagues that I brought with me to offer those 218 votes on the first ballot aren't there anymore. It is not happening.

As it has been said, we need to get to a point where we start evaluating what life after Kevin McCarthy looks like.

America doesn't want more talk, and I am going to keep my speech a little short. They want action. I will take that. I want to get to work, too.

America is tired of rhetoric, and they want results. This isn't chaos. This is a constitutional republic at work.

I am a mom of four boys. I know what chaos and dysfunction look like. This is actually a really beautiful thing, to be here with all of my colleagues debating.

Just as the gentleman from Montana said, we have not experienced this in the 2 years that we have served here in Washington, D.C. This is the most debate that has taken place, and I love it. I love the conversations that are going on, on the floor, in the Cloakroom, and in the Halls. There is nothing extreme. There is nothing unreasonable. We are trying to get this right.

As my conservative colleagues and I have stated time and time again, Congress is broken and fundamentally needs change. I am here to get this right.

We need a leader that is not of the broken system, someone who is not beholden to the lobbyists but to the people who sent us here, someone who can unite our party, and, most importantly, someone who can deliver on the promises that we have all made to the American people.

I believe that there are many people on the floor today that can do just that. I voted for my friend Jim Jordan. I voted for my friend Byron Donalds. I am voting for Kevin Hern, the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Mr. Hern went from rags to riches. Like myself and many other Members, he is a small business owner. He has lived the American Dream.

He is a father, a family man, and as Kevin likes to say, he is a conservative, but he is not mad about it. We can have a happy warrior leading us.

I understand that threats have been made about committee assignments, that you won't receive committee assignments if you do not vote for Kevin McCarthy. That is true; it happened in Conference. That is exactly what we were told, but we don't govern in fear. We govern for the people on principle. Don't be afraid to do the right thing.

I believe that Kevin Hern is a unifier. He just received the chairmanship of the Republican Study Committee by unanimous consent. This is the largest caucus in our Conference. Look how many people have already put their trust in Kevin Hern to lead them.

I get asked by my constituents: Where does this go? Who can unify the party? Who can deliver results?

Representative Kevin Hern can do just that, and I am proud to enter his name into nomination, and I hope that some of you join me.

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Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin Hern for Speaker of the House.

It is as simple as that. Let's start getting somewhere with this; realize the fact that Kevin McCarthy does not have the votes.

Let's elect a Republican who can unify our Conference, who is a true leader. I am casting my vote for Kevin Hern, and I hope you will, as well.

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