Congressional 'chaos' more likely with Chaffetz run for House speaker, Hatch says

Congressional 'chaos' more likely with Chaffetz run for House speaker, Hatch says

(Kristin Murphy/Deseret News/File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Now it's Sen. Orrin Hatch who's being critical of fellow Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz's long-shot bid to become U.S. House speaker, saying his run makes congressional "chaos" more likely.

Hatch told Politico that Chaffetz's challenge to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., "may prevent McCarthy from getting" enough votes to succeed House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is resigning from Congress.

"Which is in my view a pretty bad thing," Hatch told the widely read Washington, D.C., news source, according to a story posted Wednesday. "The more the House stays in chaos, the worse it will be."

Hatch, the longest-serving GOP senator and, as the Senate president pro tempore, third in the line of succession to the presidency, also suggested Chaffetz is seen as too inexperienced for the House's top spot.


What will be held against him by some is he has only been in Congress for a short period of time and may or may not have built up enough cachet to be the speaker.

–Sen. Orrin Hatch


"What will be held against him by some is he has only been in Congress for a short period of time and may or may not have built up enough cachet to be the speaker," Hatch told Politico.

After the story appeared, Hatch spokesman J.P. Freire said the senator's statements to Politico were about "the need for the House to unify behind the Republican conference's choice for speaker" and described Chaffetz as the senator's friend.

Sen. Orrin Hatch. Photo: Ravell Call/Deseret News/File
Sen. Orrin Hatch. Photo: Ravell Call/Deseret News/File

"(Hatch) thinks it would be inappropriate to endorse any candidate in the race for speaker," Freire said, and "considers all of the candidates to be friends and valued legislative partners" that he'll continue to work with no matter who wins.

The senator's statements came after former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. posted a tweet using the hashtags "#selfpromoter" and "#powerhungry" to describe Chaffetz, who served as his campaign manager and chief of staff.

.@GOPLeader McCarthy just got "Chaffetzed."Something I know a little something about. #selfpromoter#powerhungry — Jon Huntsman (@JonHuntsman) October 6, 2015

"@GOPLeader McCarthy just got 'Chaffetzed.' Something I know a little something about," Huntsman said in his tweet Monday, an apparent reference to Chaffetz not supporting his 2012 run for president.

Chaffetz did get a second vote Wednesday from the three other Utah members of the House with an announcement from Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, that she's supporting Chaffetz in the speaker's race.

"With my vote for speaker of the House, I am putting Utah first," Love said in a statement. "If chosen, Jason would raise Utah's voice in Washington in a most powerful way."

Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said Tuesday he's supporting Chaffetz. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has yet to say who he will vote for in Thursday's secret ballot of House Republicans.


If chosen, Jason would raise Utah's voice in Washington in a most powerful way.

–Rep. Mia Love


McCarthy is the favorite to win Thursday but may run into trouble when the full House votes on Oct. 29 because members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus announced Wednesday they're supporting Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla.

"It's not clear how Chaffetz ends up making this work out well, in the sense that the best he can do is split the Republican caucus," University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said.

Burbank said Hatch may be trying to put pressure on Chaffetz to drop out of the race to protect the GOP from the political fallout of a prolonged public battle over the speakership.

"The message here is this activity may again end up making House Republicans look worse, the Republican Party look worse, Republican presidential candidates look worse, Congress look worse," he said. "Clearly those are things Sen. Hatch does not want to see happen."

Hatch was more complimentary of Chaffetz last week, telling the Deseret News the congressman is "very good at handling the media back there. It's a tough thing to do because they're tough as nails. … He will appeal to a lot of people."

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Lisa Riley Roche

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