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Bacon would work with Dems to elect moderate House speaker if GOP's McCarthy falls short [1]

['Molly Ashford World-Herald Staff Writer', 'Molly Ashford', 'Jacquelyn Martin', 'Associated Press', 'Anna Reed The World-Herald', 'Anna Reed', 'The World-Herald', 'Chris Machian The World-Herald', 'Eileen T. Meslar The World-Herald']

Date: 2023-01

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy took a major step Tuesday in his bid to become House speaker, but it's still unclear whether he can consolidate conservative GOP support and win the January vote.

That uncertainty has one of McCarthy's Republican backers, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, holding out the prospect that he would be willing to reach across the aisle to elect a speaker if his fellow Republicans don't unite behind McCarthy or another candidate.

Bacon said Monday he'd work with Democrats to find a moderate alternative in order to keep Congress from becoming gridlocked and ineffective.

"If we have total gridlock, I'm going to work with like-minded people across the aisle to find someone agreeable for speaker," Bacon said. "We have to govern. We can't afford to let our country be stuck in neutral."

Republicans are on the verge of winning the House majority, with several races yet to be decided. It's unlikely that the GOP total will be large — perhaps just slightly more than the 218 lawmakers needed for majority control.

The narrow margin poses a challenge for McCarthy, because he will need nearly all of those Republican votes to win the formal election for House speaker next year. Tuesday's vote for McCarthy was 188-31.

The former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, announced he is challenging McCarthy, saying Americans want a “new direction.”

“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,” Biggs said in a statement. “McCarthy does not have the votes needed to become the next Speaker of the House and his speakership should not be a foregone conclusion.”

Bacon, who represents the Omaha area, said he believes that McCarthy or another Republican eventually will secure the votes needed to be elected as speaker.

But if Republicans can't coalesce around a single GOP candidate, Bacon said he would be willing to work with Democrats to elect a moderate Republican or an "agreeable" candidate to avoid chaos in the House.

Republican leadership races have been contentious in recent years. The last two Republican speakers — John Boehner and Paul Ryan — retired early rather than try to lead a party splintered by its far-right flank.

In 2015, McCarthy withdrew from the race to replace Boehner after more than 30 Republicans said they would not vote for him. Ryan won the post after McCarthy's withdrawal.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

Photos: Nebraska goes to the polls in 2022 general election

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[1] Url: https://omaha.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/bacon-would-work-with-dems-to-elect-moderate-house-speaker-if-gops-mccarthy-falls-short/article_ecfa7c66-6491-11ed-9123-5393236e49c4.html

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