Rep. Biggs loses bid for House speaker as GOP regroups
Rep. Andy Biggs lost his longshot bid to be the speaker of the House of Representatives when the next Congress convenes in Washington, in a move he framed as “changing the paradigm and the status quo.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., beat Biggs, R-Ariz., 188-31 in an internal House GOP vote, according to CNN, citing unnamed sources.
The outcome was never really in doubt, but Biggs’ challenge signals that McCarthy’s hold on the GOP is tenuous after the party posted only minor gains in the midterm elections rather than the “red wave” many expected.
The move is sure to further raise the profile of Biggs, who may be best known nationally for his involvement in Washington and in Arizona in the effort led by former President Donald Trump to set aside the certified results of the 2020 election that culminated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Biggs, the former Arizona state Senate president, is the former head of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, which was arguably Trump’s most supportive faction in the chamber.
“The American people want us to turn a page. They do not want excuses or performance art, they want action and results,” Biggs said in a statement. “The promised red wave turned into a loss of the United States Senate, a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, and upset losses of premiere political candidates.
“My bid to run for Speaker is about changing the paradigm and the status quo. Minority Leader McCarthy does not have the votes needed to become the next Speaker of the House and his speakership should not be a foregone conclusion.”
The current House speaker is Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
No Arizonan has ever served as House speaker, but the late long-serving former Rep. John Rhodes, R-Ariz.,
was House minority leader from 1973 to 1981. Like Biggs, Rhodes hailed from the East Valley.
Biggs called for procedural changes in the House, affecting amendments to bills, limiting bills to a single subject, requiring them to move through committees before floor votes and creating a requirement that members have a chance to read and debate legislation.
“I look forward to serving our great nation and steering our country in a better direction after the disastrous midterms,” he said.
Biggs was an early critic of Anthony Fauci and the moves to shut down the economy during the early days of the pandemic and was one of four Republicans to sign on to a bill in 2021 to impeach President Joe Biden after eight months in office.
Biggs easily won reelection in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District. As of Sunday, he had won 57% of the vote in a district that heavily favors Republicans.
After Biden’s narrow victory over Trump in Arizona, Biggs pressed Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, RMesa, to join in an effort to have the Republican-controlled Legislature cast the state’s presidential electors. Bowers declined.
In Washington, Biggs urged his House colleagues to set aside the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, an effort that failed after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.