Why Lauren Boebert voted to keep Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the House

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Ken Buck was the only Republican congressperson to vote for ousting McCarthy.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert split from some of her colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus in voting against a motion to fire Speaker Kevin McCarthy Tuesday afternoon.

But the majority of lawmakers voted to usurp McCarthy, as congressional Democrats eschewed voting in his favor. Republicans have just a four-seat advantage in the U.S. House.

Boebert, whose district includes Pueblo, the San Luis Valley and much of the Western Slope, was one of a small group of holdouts to McCarthy’s nomination as speaker in January. They held up the confirmation of McCarthy for multiple days to demand concessions on several House rules, including one that made it easier for representatives to remove the speaker.

In a statement posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Boebert explained why she voted “no for now” on ousting McCarthy.

She said that she is also “frustrated by the broken promises, secret deals, and failed leadership” — including “using” Democrats to continue funding the federal government — but that arguing about another House speaker would be a bad idea at the moment.

“My focus right now is on getting the federal government funded through 12 individual spending bills like we promised everyone in January, delivering on the priorities of the Third District, and moving forward on the Oversight and Accountability Committee’s impeachment inquiry.

“Another Speaker fight right now, in my opinion, undermines those priorities at the worst possible time. It would delay the hard work and important fights necessary to get this country back on track. We need to finish the job the American people elected us to do, and I’m here to ensure that happens,” Boebert wrote.

Ken Buck, whose district includes Colorado's Eastern Plains, was the only Colorado GOP congressperson who voted to oust McCarthy. Buck was one of eight Republicans who voted to fire McCarthy in the historic vote: McCarthy is the first speaker of the house to be voted out with a motion to vacate.

One of Boebert’s allies in the House, Floridian Matt Gaetz, announced he was starting the process to vote on the speaker Monday evening because he was upset about McCarthy working with Democrats to avert a federal government shutdown last week.

Gaetz and Boebert were the keynote speakers at a Pueblo County Republican Party fundraiser in October 2022.

Boebert voted against the stopgap funding measure last week to avoid a government shutdown, which received bipartisan support in the House and the U.S. Senate. The measure continues funding the federal government through Nov. 17 and includes some disaster aid.

“I want to break the bipartisan muscle memory of continuing resolutions and omnibus bills. This is not how we should fund the federal government,” Boebert said last week, according to Colorado Public Radio.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Why Lauren Boebert voted to keep Kevin McCarthy as House speaker