Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) said he is likely to support House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) in this week's leadership vote, but he is not yet a firm supporter.
Mr. McCormick appeared on NewsNation's “The Hill” on Monday and was asked whether he would vote for Mr. Johnson on Friday.
“Perhaps so,” he answered. “We have to make a decision and we have to talk to each other about the 10 people we are leaning towards.”
“And what that means is we want reassurance,” McCormick continued. “I'm not really sure we're taking debt seriously. I'm really not sure we're doing the right thing.”
The House will vote on Friday to choose the next speaker. Mr Johnson's leadership position is in jeopardy, with some hardline conservatives angry at his negotiations on continuing the resolution and aid to Ukraine.
President-elect Trump has expressed support for Johnson, which could sway some people who were hesitant about voting for the current speaker. But some Republicans aren't convinced.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he would not vote for Johnson and disagreed with Trump's endorsement. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said he needed to have further discussions with Mr. Johnson before making a decision later this week.
Like Burchett, McCormick said he wanted to hear more from Johnson before voting for him.
“I want a concrete plan. When we talk about what cuts we're going to make, how do we save this country from bankruptcy?” McCormick later added, “I don't think there's a plan.”
The Georgia lawmaker expressed frustration with Congress, saying he doesn't believe elected officials are “taking this seriously.”
“I need to see the exact plan, what we're going to do, how we're going to approach this, so that we don't actually pass it because 100 percent of Democrats are voting for it. “We need to know there's a bill for that,” he said.
McCormick also scolded Trump for his criticism of the budget. He said it's up to Congress to be responsible for the budget.
“He may have his own ideas, but ultimately it's up to us to be responsible and pass a somewhat responsible budget, because we haven't been doing that for about 30 years,” McCormick said. Because there isn't.”
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