Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., revealed on Sunday that in exchange for his support of Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker, he will be appointed to the House Republican Steering Committee. Donalds made the revelation during an appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo.
The interview took place after the 15-ballot election had yielded a winner and McCarthy had officially become the House speaker. In order to gain the necessary support to become the Speaker, McCarthy had to yield to a number of demands made by those opposing him.
Donalds said that he was “frankly just happy that it’s all over with,” and that the GOP would now work to create something “transformational” for Americans.
As Donalds noted it was important to have one more Republican in the Steering Committee, as it is that committee that determines which Republicans would be assigned to other committees.
Donalds was one of the 20 hardline Republicans who did not support McCarthy in his bid. In the first ballot, Donalds had voted in favor of McCarthy but then switched to supporting Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. At one point during the race, Donalds himself had been nominated for the role of Speaker by one of his Republican colleagues.
Donalds added that at first he “gave Kevin the benefit of the doubt,” but it became evident quickly that they “were getting nowhere.” It was then that he started wondering how long the process would take as they needed to start working on a framework that everyone in the conference could support.
