Rep. Ken Buck Shares Why He Couldn’t Vote for Either Speaker Candidate
Colorado Congressman Ken Buck made waves among his Republican colleagues on Wednesday when he refused to vote for either of the House speaker candidates during a closed-door election.
Buck, who represents the conservative stronghold of Colorado's 4th Congressional District, revealed that his decision was due to the dodgy responses he received from the two candidates about the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) says he refused to vote for either of the Republican candidates for House speaker. (Huffington Post)
During a Republican speaker candidate forum on Tuesday evening, Buck put Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan on the spot by asking them whether President Joe Biden won the election fairly.
According to Buck, neither Scalise nor Jordan gave a direct answer as two who won the 2020 presidential election – Biden or Trump.
In an interview with HuffPost, Buck said, "If we don't have the moral clarity to decide whether President Biden won or not, we don't have the moral clarity to rule in this country, period."
Buck also noted that he was not satisfied with the candidates' evasion of his question. As a result, when the House Republicans held their closed-door election on Wednesday, Buck simply voted "present."
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., talks to reporters as he leaves Republicans closed-door forum to hear from the candidates for speaker of the House on Tuesday. (Associated Press)
The Republican party has been in disarray since extremist Rep. Matt Gaetz led a faction to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the speaker's office last week. Buck was one of the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy after he worked with Democrats to pass legislation and prevent a government shutdown.
It's an extraordinary moment of political chaos that has brought the House to a standstill at a time of uncertainty at home and crisis abroad, just 10 months after Republicans swept to power. Aspiring to operate as a team and run government more like a business, the GOP majority has drifted far from that goal with the unprecedented ouster of a speaker.
Scalise emerged as the majority winner in Wednesday's vote, with 113 Republicans supporting him compared to 99 for Jordan. However, it remains to be seen if Scalise can rally enough support to become speaker in a vote on the House floor.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, left, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise. (Fox News)
Both Scalise and Jordan were among the 147 Republicans who voted to object to the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021. Buck, on the other hand, spoke out against these objections and voted to certify the results. Jordan, who has been a vocal defender of former President Donald Trump, has also led the effort to impeach President Biden, a move that Buck has denounced as baseless.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) confirmed Buck's account of asking about the election during the speaker candidate forum and not receiving a straight answer. Burchett said, "I'd say that'd be very accurate."
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Americans are watching. One-quarter of Republicans say they approve of the decision by a small group of Republicans to remove McCarthy as speaker. Three in 10 Republicans believe it was a mistake, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
As the fight for the House speaker position continues, it remains to be seen if Scalise or Jordan can garner enough support from their own party to take on this crucial leadership role.