House speaker candidates must have a proven track record and the ability to fulfill the role effectively, Rep. Pete Sessions said in a Newsmax interview.
"I think that if you were interviewing for a job, you would bring the experience necessary, proven experience with the ability to get the job done, and that is what I think our conference is looking for," he said Saturday during an appearance on Newsmax TV's "Saturday Agenda."
"I am entering this race because of my 10 years in Republican leadership with the knowledge about how to move our party forward," he added. "So, I look forward to that discussion with every one of the members and certainly on Monday evening when we meet as a conference."
Sessions, who also served as the chairman of the House Rules Committee, emphasized his track record of working on advancing the Republican agenda through Congress and transforming it into legislation.
"As chairman of the House Rules Committee, I worked for six years on moving that agenda through Congress and having it signed into legislation," he said.
"Making sure that the American people receive the benefit of not just the conservative answer to the issues but one that helped communities and people all across the country. It is that same opportunity of bringing us together and having us work together that I would hope to do as I have done in the past."
Republicans abruptly dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.
The outcome left Republicans dejected, frustrated, and sinking deeper into turmoil, another week without a House speaker bordering on a full-blown crisis. House Republicans have no realistic or working plan to unite the fractured GOP majority, elect a new speaker and return to the work of Congress that has been languishing since hard-liners ousted Kevin McCarthy at the start of the month.
Sessions said he has the experience.
"I was chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee when we were 40 seats back," he said, "and we won by a net 63."
"This gave us a chance not just to get the majority but to bring forth the ideas that the American people wanted," he added.
Other Republicans vying for the job include Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Jodey Arrington of Texas, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Austin Scott of Georgia, Byron Donalds of Florida and Jack Bergman of Michigan.
House Republicans are scheduled to convene in Washington for a candidate forum on Monday at 6:30 p.m., where prospective speakers will present their cases.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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