One of the Republican holdouts who has voted six times against electing Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy as House speaker says he would leave Congress if his right-wing allies don’t force changes to the way the House chamber operates.
North Carolina Rep.-elect Dan Bishop, 58, made the threat to Roll Call in an article published Thursday.
“We’re going to either see improvement up here the same way we made remarkable improvements in North Carolina in the state legislature, or I’m out,” Bishop told the outlet.
The lawmaker said that under McCarthy’s leadership, existential threats to the country had “gotten worse, not better,” and that he was willing to leave the House because he’s “older than the average bear” and “not going to stay up here [in DC] for decades.”
The lawmaker later clarified on Twitter that his comments should not be interpreted as a vow to resign if McCarthy eventually does become speaker, vowing: “I will serve my term with all the force and vigor in me.”
Bishop has represented the area outside Raleigh since 2019 after serving for four years in the North Carolina legislature, where he was known for sponsoring the state’s controversial 2016 bill that prevented transgender people from using public bathrooms corresponding to their gender identities.
His threat came after 20 holdouts — almost all of them from the far-right House Freedom Caucus — cast ballots for Florida Rep.-elect Byron Donalds in three nominating ballots Wednesday.
The votes for the 44-year-old black man came after Democratic Rep.-elect Hakeem Jeffries became the first person of color to be nominated for House speaker. Despite the GOP’s thin majority, Jeffries had outpaced McCarthy in each of the six ballots due to the Republican mutiny.
Other members of the ultra-conservative caucus — who are seeking concessions and appointments that take away power from the speaker — indicated that their stances were more flexible.
“I, like many, have trust issues with the leader. But I wouldn’t say that everything is so finite that there’s no conceivable way,” House Freedom Caucus chairman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania told the outlet after voting commenced Wednesday.
Bishop and six other caucus members had signed a letter last month saying they needed more power to “advance the conservative agenda,” cap spending and ensure that they were represented on the powerful House Rules Committee.
As voting headed into its third day, McCarthy had reportedly given in to some of the group’s demands, agreeing that the Congressional Leadership Fund super political action committee that he is aligned with would not back any primary candidates for open seats in safe GOP districts.
McCarthy had also signaled he would allow one House member to force a vote that could oust the speaker, a departure from his earlier “motion to vacate” compromise which would have required five representatives to agree to start such a process.