Two-hundred and eighteen votes is the magic number to elect a new Speaker of the House, and since opening day of the 118th U.S. Congress on January 3, it’d be the understatement of 2023 to say the Republican Congressional delegation is a house divided.
For three days, 90 percent of the Republican Party and 88 percent of Texas representatives voted to back California Congressman Kevin McCarthy. What began as 20 far-right Republicans fighting in the Capitol and preventing their own party from moving forward with the consensus pick has shrunk. Among the 20, three were from Texas—Representatives Keith Self, Michael Cloud, and Chip Roy. Since then, those three Texans have surrendered in an ending far less bloody than the Alamo. Whether it was political theater or gamesmanship, we’ll find out more as assignments are made and further details of deals cut are uncovered. But for now, who are they?
Keith Self hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but the Trump-endorsed congressman-elect from McKinney has opted for a path of betrayal. The Christian nationalist Army vet and former Collin County Judge represents a firmly conservative congressional district northeast of Dallas. McCarthy even campaigned for him. In September, Self described McCarthy as “gracious” and said he had “not heard a single peep” about a challenger.
