Lee says he is not interested in House speakership


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SALT LAKE CITY — Another Utahn saw his name surface over the weekend as a potential U.S. House speaker — Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

Lee was touted by New York Times op-ed columnist Ross Douthat on Sunday as the "ideal speaker" candidate even though he's in the Senate because of his "insurgent's resume" as part of the tea party wave and "policy entrepreneur" credentials.

While nothing prevents someone not in the House from becoming speaker, Lee said he's not interested and cited the attributes of the Utahn actually running for the job, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

"I'm flattered that somebody came up with the idea," Lee said Monday, noting that historically only House members have been chosen as speaker. "I don't think it's hurtful any time you have people coming together and proposing ideas."

Lee said Chaffetz "is a good friend and he's a great leader. I think he would be a great speaker."

But Chaffetz, who launched a long-shot bid to become speaker earlier this month, is waiting like everyone else for Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to make up his mind about the job now that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has dropped out.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said the speaker's race is an opportunity for Congress to have a fresh start. Last week, Huntsman made his feelings known about Chaffetz, who ran his campaign for governor and served as his chief of staff.

In a tweet last week, Huntsman said McCarthy "just got 'Chaffetzed.' Something I know a little something about. #selfpromoter #powerhungry," an apparent reference to Chaffetz not supporting Huntsman's run for president in 2012.

"I said what I thought needed to be said when it appeared as if yet another person had been 'Chaffetzed,'" Huntsman said Monday. "It was a frank, diplomatic comment. And sometimes you make frank, diplomatic comments."

Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China, is now co-chairman of No Labels, a group promoting bipartisan politics. No Labels held a Problem Solver Convention in New Hampshire featuring GOP and Democratic presidential candidates.

The chaotic speaker's race, Huntsman said, is "a symptom of our divided state." He said it is also an opportunity for the House, where conservatives are at odds with establishment Republicans, to right itself."

"I do think out of total chaos in the House of Representatives can come a sense of renewal," Huntsman said, with "somebody like Paul Ryan or a respected leader" at the helm.

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"We'll see how the election plays out. But it's important for the United States that the Congress function in a way that produces a few results every now and again," he said. "We haven't seen results in a very, very long time."

Although the New York Times column portrayed Lee as a leader of "tea party-driven brinksmanship" now poised to move conservatives toward reform, Huntsman had kind words for his former general counsel in the governor's office.

"Mike Lee is somebody who is working with the other side," said Huntsman, who has endorsed Lee's re-election in 2016. "Mike Lee is somebody who I would consider to be a policy entrepreneur."

Contributing: Peter Samore, Sam Penrod

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