Gingrich tells House GOP conference 'empower' McHenry to run chamber if it cannot elect speaker

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich says the House Republican Conference may be better off to "empower" placeholder Speaker Patrick McHenry to run the chamber if members cannot elect a permanent one in the next few days.

The conference has tried for over two weeks to elect a speaker – after several members effectively voted California Rep. Kevin McCarthy out of the post. Most recently, Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan failed to get enough "yeses" on a House floor vote Tuesday and is set to try again Wednesday, amid challenging odds.

Gingrich on Tuesday made the suggestion, which seems to suggest keeping McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, in his speaker pro tempore post, not electing him. 

"America does not have the luxury to stand by and allow a handful of destructive Republicans – or even the legitimate ambitions of good people – to keep the system from working," Gingrich says about GOP members who apparently either ousted McCarthy and-or who have blocked efforts to elect a new speaker who doesn't align with their political ideology, which is largely far right. 

"If a permanent solution is not available in the next few days, a temporary solution to January 1, 2024, maybe the answer. Let people calm down. Tempers can relax. A lot more thought and conversation can work toward a long-term solution. (Meanwhile, the loudmouthed chaos agents will immediately become less important.)," Gingrich also writes.