WASHINGTON — Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, expressed frustration Thursday that the failure by House Republicans to coalesce around a candidate for speaker is taking away from time that could be spent addressing the Israel-Hamas war.
The first-term lawmaker spoke to reporters after a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting as members grapple with trying to find a candidate who could be elected speaker in a floor vote.
Nunn, 44, said he spent the morning working with a family in his congressional district — which covers southwest Iowa — that was trying to leave Israel.
"We got them on a private charter aircraft, thanks to our incredible governor," Nunn said, referring to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
"I've got another family from a district in Des Moines who is trapped in the Gaza Strip right now because they went over to see sick family members," he added. "I have friends on the [U.S.] carrier strike group who don’t know if their family is gonna get a paycheck when they get home because by the time that ship returns to port, we may not have a budget that’s been finished."
Since the ouster last week of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker, House Republicans have been struggling to pick a successor who would have enough support to be elected during a formal floor vote. On Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., won an internal election for speaker in a 113-99 vote, but he will need 217 votes to win on the House floor.
After House Republicans huddled in the basement of the Capitol on Thursday, it was evident that they still had no clear path ahead.
"While there are a lot of people in D.C. who want to have a debate over what politics are going to look like and who’s in the speaker’s chair, there’s a lot of Americans right now, including my 750,000 bosses, that want me to get work done," Nunn said, referring to his constituents.
The congressman said he wants a speaker election to be a secondary priority compared to enacting policies. Still, the House needs to elect a speaker in order to pass legislation and take any legislative action related to Israel or other issues.
"At this point, I care less who that person is, and more that they’re willing to get policy to the floor," he said of the next speaker. "There’s a lot of people with a lot of baggage. They need to move beyond what’s in their personal interest and start putting their 750,000 bosses' interests before their own."
