Kevin Hern is now among the sea of alternatives to Kevin McCarthy. The names are floated for House speakership. Kevin Hern is a Republican. He is from the state of Oklahoma. His entry has left many ripples in political circles.
He was nominated on Thursday. What is interesting is that it is the chamber’s failed ninth attempt to choose a leader which again goes for the 10th.
Nomination aspects
Every candidate has to be nominated. Hence Kevin Hern had to be nominated by someone as well. In this case, we find Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado doing so. Lauren Boebert has been against Kevin McCarthy for a considerable time. Boebert belongs to the far-right category to reckon with. Thus this is a significant nomination at large.
Switching of votes
We find some votes switched in this regard. Hence it is better to point those aspects out here first. Ms. Boebert switched her vote on the eighth ballot to Mr. Hern. She did so instead of Florida Representative Byron Donalds. What makes Donald’s unique is that it is whom the holdouts had previously favored. It is intriguing to mention that Mr. Hern was her candidate for the ninth and tenth ballots. Hence this makes Mr. Hern a unique personality.
Official candidates
To choose the best there always have to be multiple options in terms of candidates. The same happened in this case as well. Hence let us now discuss who these official candidates were.
There were four official candidates for the ninth and tenth votes. It is because Mr. Donalds was also nominated once more: Mr. Donalds, Mr. Hern, Mr. McCarthy, and Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democratic Party.
What is interesting is that the list of nominees is not binding on the lawmakers at large. In fact, they can vote for anyone they want. Thus this is what is intriguing about it.
Background of Kevin Hern
Kevin Hern has an illustrious background to reckon with. We can quote Boebert here who said that he “went from rags to riches and, like myself and many other members, is a small-business owner. He has lived the American dream. He’s a father, a family man, and as Kevin likes to say, he’s a conservative but he’s not mad about it. We can have a happy warrior leading us.” She said this in her nomination speech.
Kevin Hern is interestingly highly qualified as well. His credentials say so. He used to work as an aerospace engineer for Rockwell International once upon a time. Thus this shows his academic inclinations. But after the Challenger disaster, he lost his job. Thus it became challenging for him temporarily. What makes him great is that he did not give up under such circumstances. Instead, he took up the onus to be an entrepreneur.
Just gave a speech on the House floor calling out @HouseDemocrats for voting against a measure to fund the paychecks for federal employees who have been impacted by the partial #shutdown. This is the 2nd time they’ve voted against it. Time to stop the games & do our job. pic.twitter.com/yMB1eS4ywO
— Congressman Kevin Hern (@repkevinhern) January 23, 2019
As a unifier
Hern is presented as a unifier at large. In the current political climate, such unifying abilities are very much needed. The Republican party is expected to benefit from his leadership.
Unfortunately, the votes showed nothing of that sort. Hence it was greatly disappointing.
Kevin Hern said earlier “If I hear my name, it’s something I’ll have to think and pray about before deciding if it’s a job I’ll run for”
But he still went on to vote for Mr. McCarthy for the ninth time. Three votes went to Mr. Hern in the ninth vote for speaker.
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