Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he's "disappointed" by the failure of U.S. House Republicans to elect a new House speaker and that the solution will likely come from a candidate who hasn't had their name mentioned yet.
The governor said it's "incredibly frustrating" to see the dysfunction with the GOP caucus, when asked about the ongoing situation during his monthly PBS Utah news conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
"I think it's an embarrassment to our country — an embarrassment to my party — that they can't seek and find some consensus," Cox said. "That's incredibly frustrating, and we're seeing the real-world consequences of that."
Given the multiple ongoing crises around the world, the governor said a "sense of urgency" should be driving House lawmakers to find a solution.
Drawing on his experience as a state lawmaker, Cox said the caucus should have rallied behind current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, after he won a closed-door vote to lead the party.
Instead, Scalise later withdrew his name from consideration after Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a hardline conservative and close ally of former President Donald Trump, mounted an insurgent bid for the gavel and pressured lawmakers with the threat of using his and Trump's platform to oppose their reelection if they didn't support him.
"The caucus took a position, and they should have had unanimous support when they went out of there," Cox said, adding that it's "really disappointing" that the caucus didn't back Scalise.
Jordan has now lost two speaker votes, but suspended his bid to serve as speaker Thursday and announced he would back Republican Patrick McHenry to fill the role on a temporary basis to guide the chamber through talks on providing wartime aid to Ukraine and Israel and a looming government shutdown.
Cox plans to endorse Brad Wilson for Senate
The governor has previously hosted a campaign fundraiser for outgoing Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, and he was asked if he plans to support Wilson in next year's race for Sen. Mitt Romney's seat.
"I do," Cox said. "I've had the opportunity to work with Brad Wilson. I know Brad as well as just about anybody in the state, and that's why I feel so confident, because I have been able to work with him. I believe he's one of the best speakers we've ever had in the state."
Referencing the chaos in the U.S. House right now, Cox said he believes Wilson has accomplished a lot while working in "the most difficult job — politically speaking — in the state of Utah."
"I've never seen anybody do it as well as Brad Wilson, and I think that's the kind of leadership that we need in Washington, D.C.," he said.
He said he doesn't think endorsements count for much with voters, though, and expects the people of Utah to make up their own minds about the race.
"What I know is that Speaker Wilson is not just a great human being but an incredible public servant, and if we had 100 Brad Wilsons in the Senate and 435 in the House, our country would be in a much better place," Cox said.
Community service and mental health
Cox began the news conference by promoting a service initiative he announced earlier in the week, which provides four hours of administrative leave to all state employees to participate in service projects and requires that businesses provide at least 20 hours of similar leave per high-paying job each year to qualify for incentives through the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity.
The initiative is a "win-win" for communities and businesses, he said, because service benefits the givers, not just the recipients.
"I know personally, that this is really good for business, it's good for your employees, it's good for your communities, it's good for our state, it's good for our mental health and of course it's great for the people that we are here serving," he said.
He said that some therapists are even recommending service projects before prescribing psychotropic drugs for patients seeking help with their mental health.
"It's just a win-win all the way around," he said.
You can watch the full news conference below:
