The conservative agenda "has suffered" with the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker "by a handful of Republicans with all of the Democrats," but that will change with the election of a new speaker, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart told Newsmax Wednesday.
"Maybe the fourth time is a charm," the Florida Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report," referring to the selection of Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., as the GOP's fourth nominee for House speaker. "I'm convinced that Congressman Johnson will receive the votes of, I think, pretty much every single Republican on the floor today, and we're going to go to the floor today, God willing, to elect a new Republican speaker with Republican votes and then get the conservative agenda back on track."
But when McCarthy's seat was vacated, House Democrats got a "green light on the administration with no pushback from anyone," said Diaz-Balart, but "that is about to end."
"Today, we are going to have a new speaker," he said. "He is an honorable, decent, good human being, and I am thrilled that he has agreed to again run for speaker, and I think he will be the next speaker."
He added that Johnson will be able to bridge the gap between conservative and moderate Houe Republicans, and said it's ironic that "there are no real policy differences" between party members.
"It's really their strategy differences," he said. "Every single Republican in this conference is a conservative principled Republican … there's the understanding that, Look, enough is enough. We have to get together. We have to get back on track. So I think today is going to be a good day. We're going to be back with a vengeance."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.