Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) announced that he will run to be the next House Speaker amid the chaos in the Republican Party.
Ever since Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted as House Speaker, Republicans have been unsuccessfully searching for his replacement.
Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) was the first candidate put forward but he failed to get the necessary votes amid concerns about him being too similar to McCarthy.
With Scalise's failure leaving the House leaderless, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) put his name out there. Unfortunately, certain holdouts in the Republican Party doomed Jordan's bid for the speakership because he was too conservative.
Now Donalds is putting his name out there and will brave the gauntlet of a divided Republican Party.
The fight over the speakership has made it clear that the Republican Party is aggressively divided between strong conservatives and establishment conservatives who were happy with McCarthy and his selling out to Democrats.
The next speaker of the House will either have to unite the two factions, or beat the smaller establishment wing into submission.
Donalds issued a statement on X saying, "As a member of this conference, I've seen firsthand the devotion of my colleagues to improving the lives of their constituents and the future of America," he wrote in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter. We come from different walks of life but share the common pursuit of a more perfect union. As speaker, every voice in our conference will have a seat at the table to ensure our unity and consensus on the legislative battles we face."
Donalds is definitely striking a unity approach with his promise to let every voice be heard in the conference.
However, Donalds is also a strong conservative who will take the fight to the Democrat Party.
Donalds further stated that, "My sole focus will be securing our border, funding our government responsibly, advancing a conservative vision for the House of Representatives and the American people, and expanding our republican majority."
Jim Jordan was a fine selection for House Speaker but his campaign to be the House Speaker was sabotaged by establishment Republicans. Arguably, the Republicans who voted against Jordan should be priorities to be replaced.
Donalds's strong conservative values will make him a target for those same Republicans that are more interested in cutting deals with Democrats and betraying voters.
This fight over the speakership has made it abundantly clear that the Republican Party needs unity. The best way to achieve that is for voters to kick out the backstabbers in the Party.
