Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the House's top investigator, announced Sunday his candidacy to replace House Speaker John Boehner, saying that the presumptive successor, Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, has neither the communication skills nor the credibility with conservatives to succeed in the top leadership position, reported CNN.
Chaffetz, a Utah Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on "Fox News Sunday" that McCarthy is a "good man" but that the American people "want a fresh start."
"I think the American public wants to see a change. They want a fresh start. You don't just give an automatic promotion to the existing leadership team, that doesn't signal change. I think they want a fresh face and a fresh new person who's actually there at the leadership table in the speaker's role," 48-year-old Chaffetz said.
Chaffetz acknowledged that McCarthy has the support of most of the House Republican Conference and remains the favorite to replace outgoing Speaker Boehner, who said in late September that he would resign and leave Congress on Oct. 30. However, Chaffetz's bid ensures that there will be no coronation, according to the Associated Press.
House Republicans are expected to cast votes by secret ballot on Thursday and follow up with a floor vote in the full House later in the month. Chaffetz predicted that McCarthy will struggle to get the 218 votes on the House floor from the 246 House Republicans because some 50 conservatives plan to vote against him, according to CNN.
Chaffetz came to Congress after ousting a Republican incumbent in 2008, partially over the issue of immigration, according to The Washington Times. He has since led the investigation into Planned Parenthood and the federal Office of Personnel Management hack, becoming the first major lawmaker to call for the OPM chief to step down.
"I am running for speaker of the House of Representatives because I want to lead the way on tackling the toughest issues facing the United States of America," Chaffetz said in the statement issued Sunday.
"The American people have entrusted Republicans with the largest majority since the 1920's, but with that majority comes a responsibility to get the job done that we were elected to do," he said. "I came to Congress to help fix problems, and as speaker I will fight every day to make that happen. I look forward to sharing my vision for the speakership with my colleagues and the American people."
McCarthy blundered last week when he credited the House committee investigating the Benghazi terrorist attacks with pulling Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's poll numbers down, reported The Washington Post.
