Congressman Kevin Kiley – January 7, 2023

At 1:54 AM this morning, I was finally sworn in as a Member of the United States House of Representatives.

The week did not exactly go as planned – from small things, like the word California being mis-spelled on the sign outside my office, to the larger matter of the swearing-in itself.

All incoming Members of the House convened on Tuesday, and the first order of business was electing a Speaker. Until that happened, the Congress could not be organized and no one could be sworn in. In essence, there is no Congress until there is a Speaker.

For over 100 years, it has taken one round of voting to elect a Speaker. This time, 14 rounds of voting took place over 4 days without anyone receiving the required majority. Nothing like this had happened since before the Civil War.

I witnessed a lot in the State Assembly. But I’ve never seen anything like the drama that unfolded last night on the House Floor. After the 14th ballot, a motion to adjourn for the weekend was reversed in the middle of the voting, and the ensuing 15th ballot was decisive.

Much will be said about what transpired, but two things are important to emphasize. First, Republicans were unified in the end. Second, through the process, historic reforms were made to the House rules to make Congress a more open and representative body.

Now, we hit the ground running. Legislation for next week will repeal Biden’s 87,000 new IRS agents, protect our petroleum reserves from China, counter threats from the CCP, condemn Defund the Police, and get prosecutors to actually prosecute crimes.

The fight to save our country has finally begun.