WASHINGTON — Former Fort Bend County Sheriff Rep. Troy Nehls took to social media to announce who he'd like to take the place of former speaker of the United States House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.
Nehls said that since McCarthy wasn't going to be running, he nominated former President Donald Trump.
Nehls served as the Fort Bend County sheriff for eight years before winning the election for the 22nd Congressional District of Texas in the House of Representatives. He was officially sworn in as a congressman in January 2021.
Texas’ 22nd Congressional District includes portions of Fort Bend, Brazoria, and Harris counties.
McCarthy was ousted in a historic 216-210 vote Tuesday. It marked the first time in U.S. history that the House has voted out its speaker.
As McCarthy got pushed out of his job as House speaker on Tuesday, in part by colleagues who helped put him on the dais nine months ago, one of his top lieutenants stepped in to preside — at least temporarily. North Carolina GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry took the gavel after Tuesday’s vote to oust McCarthy.
According to House rules, McHenry was picked from a list McCarthy was required to keep and will serve essentially as the acting speaker — known as speaker pro tempore — until the chamber figures out who will be the next leader.
For McHenry, who stands out with his signature bow ties, the interim job marks his most public position to date during his 10 terms in the House.
But he had already risen in stature and prominence within the House. McHenry was one of McCarthy’s closest allies and helped him win the speaker’s contest in January and negotiate the debt limit deal that McCarthy made with President Joe Biden earlier this year.
One of McHenry’s first acts in the temporary position was to oust Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi from her honorary office at the Capitol while she was away in California to pay tribute to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.