Far-right lawmaker buried in hometown newspaper over vote for 'chaos'

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), one of eight Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker earlier this week, was torched in The Arizona Republic by E.J. Montini for trying to pretend he didn't vote for "chaos."

"When it comes to the aftermath of ousting Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs disagrees with … everybody," wrote Montini. Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich effectively called Biggs and his cohorts "traitors," Montini noted, saying, "Ninety-six percent of Republicans voted for McCarthy. 4% voted against him. From my position as a longtime Republican activist, they are traitors. All eight of them should, in fact, be primaried. They should all be driven out of public life. What they did was go to the other team to cause utter chaos."

Biggs, speaking to constituents, denied that — but no one is really buying that, wrote Montini.

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“I would fundamentally disagree with that premise. We’re not in chaos right now,” said Biggs in a video addressing questions he's received from voters. "He said that removing McCarthy was 'done by the book.' He said, 'It may be not pretty. It may seem conflictual,' but added, 'I think things are moving along,'" wrote Montini. "Just about everyone in Washington — and everywhere else — would disagree with him. But I don’t believe that’s an unusual situation for Biggs."

With the speaker ousted, normal business in the House is effectively paralyzed until a new speaker is selected. Top candidates for that role appear to be House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH).

Montini concluded by noting that Biggs said he can't name who he would want to be House speaker in McCarthy's place, because that person would "be immediately disqualified" among many GOP lawmakers by his endorsement. "Imagine that," wrote Montini. "Imagine being part of a collective like the House Republican caucus in which your opinion carries that much negative weight."