OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska's U.S. representatives Mike Flood and Don Bacon, along with Iowa's Randy Feenstra voted in favor of keeping Kevin McCarthy as the Speaker of the House. McCarthy, though, was removed from the speaker position by a vote of 216 to 210.
Bacon, a Republican, told 3 News Now that he believes bipartisanship is the way for things to work in the U.S. House of Representatives. He argues it would allow GOP leaders to work around the eight Republicans who voted against McCarthy.
"I tried to encourage the speaker early on, and I still do, that we gotta start working in a more bipartisan manner. The Senate's Democrat-run anyway, right? And you can't count on these eight people to get you to 218 votes, which you need on any bill. So you might as well work in a bipartisan manner to begin with, and just leave these eight people to the side, make them irrelevant. That's my advice months ago to the speaker, that's my advice again."
Bacon is a member of the bipartisan problem-solvers caucus. He says he hoped a few Democrats, who voted in favor of the bipartisan continuing resolution bill on Saturday in order to prevent a government shutdown, would also vote in favor of McCarthy retaining the speakership.
"I think it sends a bad message that when a speaker does something in a bipartisan manner, we're going to let a crazy, eight people drive him out," said Bacon.
Shortly after we spoke to Bacon, McCarthy announced that he wouldn't run again for Speaker of the House.
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