Nomination of Rep. Kevin Hern for Speaker of the House - Jan. 5, 2023

Boebert nominated Kevin Hern for speaker of the House of Representatives in the ninth ballot.

BOEBERT: Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Mr. Hern as speaker of the House.

HOUSE CLERK CHERYL JOHNSON: The gentlewoman is recognized.

BOEBERT: Thank you, Madam Clerk. We have been accused of not having a plan. Well, we presented many, 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 who 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's time to get going, it's 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 have 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. And as 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'll take that. I want to get to work, too. America's 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 looks like. This is actually really a 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 two 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, love the conversations that are going on the floor, in the cloakroom, in the halls. There's nothing extreme. There's 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'm here to get this right. We need a leader that is not of 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'm voting for Kevin Hern, the gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Hern went from rags to riches, like myself and many other members, is a small business owner. He's lived the American dream. He's a father, a family man. and as Kevin likes to say, he's a conservative but he's 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 and 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 chairman 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 the nomination. And I hope that some of you join me. Thank you and I yield back.

"U.S. House of Representatives House Session." C-SPAN live video. Jan. 5, 2023. https://www.c-span.org/video/?525175-1/house-eighth-ballot-elect-speaker&live=&vod&start=1562.