Copy of the letter signed by Congressman Andy Ogles and 8 other congressmen on Jan. 1 opposing Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.

by Rod Williams, Jan. 4,2023- Below is a copy of the letter signed by Tennessee's 5th Congressional District Congressman Andy Ogles and eight other congressmen on January 1, stating their concerns with Keven McCarthy serving as Speaker of the House.  The nine signatories to this letter have voted against McCarthy on four ballots so far and have been joined by ten other House Republicans.

From the letter, there are two primary concerns the anti-McCarthy congressmen have. One, they want a rule change to make it easier to remove the speaker; and two, they are upset that McCarthy worked to defeat "conservative" congressmen in the primary. The highlighting in the copy below is mine.

Many Republicans have highjacked the word "conservative," to mean someone who is a Trump loyalist and anyone who is not a Trump loyalist is considered insufficiently "conservative." Since the word has lost its normal meaning, one does not really know what someone means when they say that McCarthy worked to defeat "conservatives."  

The nineteen congressmen who have voted against McCarty do not have an alternative candidate they are rallying behind. Some of the candidates they have supported for Speaker have in fact said they support McCarthy for Speaker. This looks bad for Republicans. Republicans only have a slim majority in the House and are going to start this session weakened and divided.