#Turner on Speakership turmoil: ‘Congress is like high school but even more so’

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) compared lawmakers to high schoolers as the battle for the Speakership continues with the House approaching three weeks without a leader.

“I’m very fond of saying that Congress is like high school but even more so. So hopefully, we’ll get past this,” Turner said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And, you know, I certainly have been part of the governing majority and I’m gonna stay part of that and look forward to those who are on the fringes hopefully coming together so that we can get a Speaker.”

The House GOP has been in disarray since eight of its members voted with Democrats earlier this month to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). There has been a tumultuous fight for the Speakership as House Republicans struggle to rally behind one candidate.

House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors for their candidate forum on Monday at 6:30 p.m., then will move to an internal nomination election on Tuesday morning. The deadline for candidates to file their candidacies is on Sunday at noon. There are nine lawmakers who have said they are either running for Speaker or are considering it.

Turner, reiterating what many lawmakers have said over the past week, also said that it will be “very difficult” for any candidate to reach the 217 votes needed to secure the Speakership.

“You know, getting 217 is obviously going to be very difficult and is the sort of Rubik’s Cube of the answer to all of this. I supported Kevin McCarthy. I supported Jim Jordan. I supported Scalise. I supported Jim [Jordan] on the floor also,” he said.

“I think we need to find someone who hopefully can get to 217 before we’re all poised, in very dramatic fashion, on the House floor, trying to determine how this will unfold. I really hope, in the next several days, as we come together as a Republican Caucus, that we’re able to resolve that, so that we go unified to the House floor and deliver a speaker,” he continued.