Prominent Conservatives Sign Letter Supporting Anti-McCarthy Republicans

Prominent Conservatives Sign Letter Supporting Anti-McCarthy Republicans

Kate Anderson on January 4, 2023

• Numerous prominent conservatives signed a letter encouraging GOP representatives to join their 20 fellow members of Congress in opposing Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California’s bid for speaker of the House.
• The signees included Edwin Meese III, former attorney general for Ronald Reagan, Ginni Thomas, president of Liberty Consulting and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Jim DeMint, chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute and former U.S. senator.
• “By failing to deliver any meaningful victories or pushback against the progressive, anti-American movement, the Republican Party has become the party of losing,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling, who also signed the letter, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. 

Dozens of prominent conservatives, including a former attorney general for the Reagan administration, released a letter Wednesday in support of the 20 House Republicans standing between Rep. Kevin McCarthy and his bid for the speakership.

“Months ago, these members made clear that this established way of doing things was no longer acceptable,” the Conservative Action Project letter said. “Rather than engage them in a good faith negotiation, Rep. Kevin McCarthy has instead maligned both the requests and the messengers. He has publicly and through proxies leveled attacks against members of his own party, including threatening to deny committee assignments for those who continue to oppose him.”

Some of the signees included Edwin Meese III, former attorney general for Ronald Reagan, Ginni Thomas, president of Liberty Consulting and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Jim DeMint, chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute and former U.S. senator.

The 118th Congress has held six votes over two days with McCarthy coming up short of the needed 218 votes. Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz,  Byron Donalds and Lauren Boebert have opposed McCarthy’s speaker bid, among others.

DeMint told the Daily Caller Foundation that it was high time to “fix a broken Congress.”

“For years, conservatives across the nation have asked for leaders in Washington who would fight for them against the establishment, and we now have 20 courageous House conservatives who have answered the call,” DeMint stated. “It’s time for the Republican leadership to start working with conservatives instead of trying to silence them.”

The announcement argued that McCarthy failed to unite the party during multiple rounds of voting, and as a result, he should not be considered for the speakership.

Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, who also signed the letter, blamed Republicans for their history of inaction and claimed the GOP was responsible for the rise of the “anti-American agenda” in a statement to the DCNF.

“By failing to deliver any meaningful victories or pushback against the progressive, anti-American movement, the Republican Party has become the party of losing,” Schilling told DCNF. “That’s what this saga is really about — making the Republican Party an effective and meaningful opposition to the Democrat’s anti-American agenda that seeks to destroy our country, religion, families, but most sacredly, our children.”

The statement called for more Republicans to join the 20 members opposing McCarthy and House “leadership.” The letter explained Congress can no longer cater to the “priorities” of “K street lobbyists” over voters.

“These members represents the millions of voters across the country who are disgusted with the business-as-usual, self-interested governance in Washington,” the announcement read. “We stand behind them and beside them in their courageous efforts to find a Speaker of the House who will represent the interests of conservatives.”

McCarthy did not respond to DCNF’s request for comment.