Oklahoma Congressman Kevin Hern was on the shortlist of candidates to replace Kevin McCarthy after his surprise ouster last week. After a few days of talking to his peers, Hern has formally announced that he will not be seeking the position, and calls for the House Republicans to “unify—and do it fast.”
In a letter to his colleagues released on his official webpage, Hern said he was concerned about the division a three-man race for the seat would create, and stressed that it was important that the party unite behind whomever the next Speaker of the House is.
“It’s clear to me that a three-man race for Speaker will only draw this process out longer, creating further division which would make it harder for any candidate to reach 217 votes,” Hern said. “For these reasons, I want two good friends of mine, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, to have the opportunity to earn 217 votes from our Conference. Steve and Jim are both former RSC chairmen and proven leaders.”
Read the full text of Hern’s letter here.
See Hern’s statement on Cavuto Live over the weekend:
Hern critical of Biden Administration Iran Ransom Deal
In September, Hern said Biden was “stupid or naïve ” in regard to the $6 billion ransom payment to Iran, whom Hern and others have described as “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
Following the surprise attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas over the weekend, the prisoner swap ransom payment is back in the spotlight, forcing US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to make clarifying remarks on the use of the money in the attacks over the weekend. He told CNN that “Iran has not yet been able to spend a single dollar of the $6 billion in funds that were unfrozen,” and further said that not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack,” but admitted that “there’s certainly a long relationship” between Iran and Hamas.
Here’s Hern’s full statement from September 12th on the Iranian deal:
“The Biden Administration’s hostage ransom deal with Iran endangers Americans and is yet another foreign policy failure from this White House,” said Chairman Hern. “President Biden is either stupid or naïve to believe that Iran will only use the $6 billion we gave them for humanitarian assistance. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Biden Administration threw out President Trump’s successful maximum pressure campaign and replaced it with a campaign of maximum concessions. The fact that these waivers were issued on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks adds insult to injury. As Chairman of the RSC, we will use all legislative options to reverse this agreement and prevent further ransom payments and sanctions relief to Iran.” Congressman Kevin Hern
