Huelskamp wants to play kingmaker

Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler/Hutchinson, and other tea party conservatives want to play kingmaker in the selection of the next speaker of the House. Though they don’t have enough support to get one of their own elected speaker, they may have enough votes to block others from the top job. “No one has 218 votes today,” Huelskamp told reporters last week. Huelskamp wrote in a commentary that he wants a speaker who will “listen to and obey the American people.” That apparently means doing whatever it takes to advance a conservative agenda and oppose President Obama, including shutting down the government. – Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 7:05 PM.