WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, South Florida Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart is urging his GOP colleagues to unite behind a replacement as soon as possible.

What You Need To Know

  • GOP Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart calls Tuesday's removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker a "tough day" 

  • He's urging his Republican colleagues to coalesce behind a replacement swiftly 

  • His first choice for the role is House Majority Leader Steve Scalise

  • SEE ALSO: Who might replace McCarthy as House speaker?

Díaz-Balart called Tuesday’s removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker a “tough day” and says that Republicans must focus on electing a new leader to resume essential operations. 

"We don't have a functioning Republican House. We can’t even bring things to the floor for God's sake," he told Spectrum News. "The appropriation bills that we need to bring to the floor so that we can negotiate by the way, whether I like it or not, whether anybody likes it or not. We only control the House." 

Rep. Jim Jordan and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise are running for speaker. Díaz-Balart says he’s “a big fan” of both Jordan and Scalise, but that he’s supporting Scalise.

"The person who is most prepared, most ready to start from day one, because he has the experience, he has the networks, he has everything, is Steve Scalise. That's not a criticism on anybody else who might be running," Díaz-Balart said. 

Some Florida Republicans have laid out terms for who they will support as the next speaker. Fellow Republican South Florida Rep. Carlos Giménez posted on X, the platform formally known as Twitter, that he’s “not supporting ANYONE for Speaker until there is a commitment to reform the Motion to Vacate.”

Díaz-Balart called the current rule allowing one member to bring the resolution forward, which Rep. Matt Gaetz used against McCarthy, “absurd,” but says he just wants his colleagues to coalesce around a new speaker swiftly. 

"Preconditions, while I'm tempted to have my own, are not helpful at this moment because we have to have a Republican that can not only get the majority of the conference when we meet in conference of the Republicans, but that when we get to the floor, all the Republicans will also stand with whoever that nominee is," Díaz-Balart said. 

Díaz-Balart said if all Republicans rally around a nominee regardless of their ideal choice, a new speaker could be decided by Wednesday. But, he says the timeline will largely depend on cooperation from the same “small group” of Republicans who voted to boot McCarthy from his chair.