House Freedom Caucus backs Webster for speaker

WASHINGTON—The House Freedom Caucus dealt a blow to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., late Wednesday when it announced the group would vote for Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., for speaker in Thursday’s Republican Conference meeting.

“It is clear that our constituents will simply not accept a continuation of the status quo, and that the viability of the Republican Party depends on whether we start listening to our voters and fighting to keep our promises,” the caucus said in a statement. “Rep. Daniel Webster would be best equipped to earn back the trust of the American people as speaker of the House.”

The Freedom Caucus boasts more than 40 members and includes the tea party conservatives who forced current House Speaker John Boehner to announce his resignation last month. If the group holds together during Thursday’s conference vote, it would ensure McCarthy—whom Boehner recommended as his replacement—would not garner the necessary 218 votes when the full House votes on Oct. 29.

Webster, whom WORLD profiled today, is a conservative Christian who has maintained a low profile since coming to Washington in 2011. His voting record is not as conservative as the group backing him—he told me he votes for a bill if he’s 51 percent for it—but Webster’s desire to decentralize power on Capitol Hill has resonated with a substantial portion of the conference.

Webster has touted his record as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives in the late 1990s as evidence that he will carry through on his promises.

Some outside activists have also jumped on board with Webster: On Wednesday, radio talk-show host Glenn Beck asked his listeners to contact their representatives and urge them to vote for Webster.

“He is a constitutionalist,” Beck said. “[Boehner] was playing all kinds of games, and Daniel Webster is not that guy. He proved it out in Florida.”

McCarthy and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who announced his speaker candidacy on Sunday, have adopted some of Webster’s talking points, but many have viewed their pledges with skepticism: McCarthy because he is Boehner’s No. 2, and Chaffetz because earlier this year he punished a member of his committee for publicly opposing Boehner.

Webster’s critics have suggested he may not have the charisma or fund-raising abilities necessary for the job. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., a member of the Freedom Caucus, told me those attributes should have nothing to do with the position.

“Why should we expect the speaker of the House, which is a constitutional role, to be a fund-raiser for the Republican Party?” he said. “That doesn’t make any sense. … We need a speaker who’s focused on process, who’s focused on the institution.”