LANSING — Former U.S. Rep. Fred Upton officially retired this week, but the moderate Michigan Republican is now a long-shot candidate for another job in Congress: U.S. House Speaker.
Upton's name has emerged as a potential bipartisan consensus pick to resolve an ongoing feud among Republicans, who are taking over the majority in the House but on Tuesday failed to elect a speaker in three separate votes. (The House is set to reconvene at noon Wednesday to continue voting.)
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Hard-line conservatives led by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida refused to support U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who was the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel on the first vote.
While former President Donald Trump is urging GOP holdouts to back McCarthy, at least two lawmakers have raised the possibility of crossing the aisle to select a moderate speaker like Upton in hopes of avoiding two years of partisan gridlock.
Upton called the idea "intriguing" and told The Detroit News he isn't ruling it out despite declining to seek re-election amid redistricting and opposition from Trump, who Upton voted to impeach for inciting riots at the U.S. Capitol.
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