Christie urges House GOP to ‘stop the petty arguing’ and pick a Speaker

Republican Presidential candidate Chris Christie urged House Republicans to stop arguing and pick a Speaker on Friday during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.

“You watch it in Washington right now,” Christie said, referring to infighting within the GOP. “With our party in charge of the House, they can’t even pick a Speaker.”

“So we need to stop the petty arguing and what we need to get to is a result, and that’s what I did for eight years in New Jersey,” he added.

Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, argued that disorganization within the House GOP is reflecting poorly on all Republican politicians.

“Now that makes us look like the gang that can’t shoot straight everybody,” he said. “And it’s gonna make people wonder about whether they should continue to put us in charge.”

According to a new poll, 74 percent of Americans disapprove of Republican leaders in Congress amid the battle for Speaker, an increase from the 67 percent who disapproved in January.

Christie’s remarks came during the “First in the Nation” Leadership Summit hosted by the New Hampshire Republican Party.

GOP presidential hopefuls Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, writer Perry Johnson and former Vice President Mike Pence are also scheduled to speak at the two-day forum.

As of Friday afternoon, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) became the second Speaker nominee, after Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) failed to receive enough support and dropped out.

The Speakership fight comes after a historic vote last week that vacated the position and removed the gavel from Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)