CNN anchor and chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju told TheWrap that Republican House Speaker candidates may have jumped the gun on agreeing to a now-canceled Fox News interview, seen as “distasteful for a lot of members.”
A joint interview hosted by Bret Baier, with representatives Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise and Kevin Hern, was stopped in its tracks after all three House members pulled out due to controversy within the Republican Party over the planned appearance.
“It was blowback internally” from the GOP, Raju told TheWrap, “no question about it.”
Fox News had said that during the interview — slated for Monday night — Baier would “press the congressmen on who should be the next Speaker of the House and discuss the issues facing Congress and the Republican Party going forward.”
That will no longer happen.
“Typically, these leadership races are all private or behind the scenes,” Raju continued. “It’s a very internal family affair.”
The CNN chief congressional correspondent and newly appointed anchor said, “When word got out that perhaps it would be televised, a lot of members did not like that.”
“They were angry, especially after such a time when the Speaker was ousted and the emotions are still raw from all of that,” Raju continued.
Kevin McCarthy was removed from his role just three days ago, after a vote of 216-210 in the chamber. McCarthy is the first person in U.S. history to be removed from the House speakership.
Raju told TheWrap that, “To take it to the public airwaves, just like that, was seen as distasteful for a lot of members.”
According to Raju, Jordan and Scalise both pulled out of the Fox News interview “because they knew their members didn’t like it.” Hern was the first to withdraw — he also isn’t officially running for the position at this time.
“It was perhaps a misjudgment on their part,” Raju said.
