Republican Warns Own Party is One of the 'Biggest Threats'

Representative Michael McCaul spoke out against his own party, saying that the GOP poses the biggest threat as he tries to get aid for Israel.

The House is at a standstill with the Speaker seat vacated after Representative Kevin McCarthy from California was voted out on October 3.

Just four days after McCarthy was ousted, Hamas, a terrorist organization that occupies the Gaza Strip, attacked Israel, one of America's closest allies.

McCaul has been pushing a resolution that would help Israel fight off Hamas's invasion, but it cannot be passed without a Speaker.

"I just made Congress aware that we are living in a dangerous world. The world's on fire," the Texas congressman said in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by The Recount. "Our adversaries are watching what we do and quite frankly they like it and Chairman Xi [Jinping] talks about how democracy doesn't work and we're proving him right and we need to fill the chair with a speaker."

McCaul warned that Israel needs aid to replenish its air defense system, noting that "every day that goes by it gets more dangerous."

"I see a lot of threats out there, but one of the biggest threats I see is in that room because we can't unify as a conference and put a Speaker in the chair to govern," McCaul said. "I can't get my resolution of 416 co-sponsors condemning Hamas and supporting Israel without a Speaker in the chair."

Representative Steve Scalise from Louisiana was named a possible replacement for McCarthy on Wednesday, but there is still uncertainty about whether Scalise will be voted in or how long it will be until the speaker chair is filled.

For Scalise to be voted in as speaker, he will need the support of 217 Republicans, out of the 221 in the House. If the vote goes anything like McCarthy's bid for speaker in January, then this could prove to be difficult.

Scalise won the nomination by a slim majority, 113 to 99, with some Congress members saying that they would not back him when the Speaker vote comes to the floor.

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she voted to nominate Ohio congressman Jim Jordan for speaker and will vote for him again, preferring for Scalise to focus on his health.

Max Miller from Ohio said he will also not change his vote, saying that he was "Jim Jordan all the way."

Scalise also received some backlash from Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina who said she would support Jordan and pointed out Scalise's participation at a white supremacist event in 2002. The congressman apologized for attending the event years later in 2014.