Anna Paulina Luna Brings Us the Inside Scoop on the Speaker Negotiations

CLAY: We head to Washington, D.C. right now, where there is reportedly about to begin a 13th vote to determine who the Speaker of the House is going to be. Speaker Kevin McCarthy — Kevin McCarthy seems to be in line to be Speaker — he has gained 14 more votes in the 12th round of voting. Among those votes, Anna Paulina Luna, a newly elected congressperson from the state of Florida. Thank you for joining us. You flipped your vote. What happened to encourage you that Kevin McCarthy was the right choice, Anna, and thanks for joining us?

REP.-ELECT LUNA: Yes, of course. Thanks for having me back on. And to be clear, I’m actually still here talking to you guys from the cloakroom on the floor. But my vote hinges on basically making these negotiations in good faith. So right now, there is a framework for negotiation that changes the very foundation in which Congress functions. And this negotiation that we’re working on will essentially outlive every single person in this legislative body. And when I came here and on the campaign trail, I told thousands of people I heard their concerns and I understand how the system is fundamentally broken.

There is way too much power consolidated into the hands of the Speaker, and so one of my first terms for my vote would be bringing back the Jeffersonian motion to vacate the chair, which allows any one member at any time or any place to bring a motion to the floor to remove the Speaker, and that’s huge. That’s an accountability that Nancy Pelosi removed from Congress when she decided that she essentially wanted to consolidate very dangerous power into her position as Speaker. That is an offer that is on the table from Kevin McCarthy. But there are many more changes. I can’t get into the details of those changes because, again, my vote hinges on making these negotiations in good faith.

And so what you are going to see is something that the American people deserve to see. We owe them this discussion and this dialogue, and you’re seeing that play out in real time. It is historic, as this is, I think, one of the first times in 100 years that this has happened. But please understand that we would not be shifting unless we really did feel that this was monumental. And I do advise everyone today — tonight, actually — to watch Tucker Carlson as Representative Thomas Massie is going to be going onto his show, talking about what we are in negotiations with. So we are going to continue to work on this. Again, nothing is going to change. I do believe that we are still going to be going back out onto the floor. But this is monumental, and I hope that the American people trust that we are actually fighting to change this institution and the way that it functions and to empower the American people over Big Government.

BUCK: Hey, Anna, it’s Buck, and appreciate your joining us. And we’ve been meaning to get you on during this whole… I’ve been calling it a ruckus, but it’s fine. You know, this is democracy playing out, what, however, people want to describe the back and forth over the Speaker’s, the Speaker’s chair. I think it’s important that this gets done the right way. And I like the transparency. I like that people are focused in on it. You said you can’t tell us what’s on the table, but what about the things that have already been reported on?

For example, things like how many seats people get on different committees, things like that. I mean, can you just…? Can you give us a little more of a sense? I mean, you’ve made some compelling broad points about how this will change the institution. We had already seen reporting about a motion to vacate the chair from one individual. Is there anything else, though, that you can just tell us that is at issue here? Because it is sounding more like this is about Congress and less about Kevin McCarthy. Is that fair?

REP.-ELECT LUNA: I would have to say, yes. This is about restoring the hands into the power of the representatives and really ensuring that the legislative body represents all ideologies, not just a mainstream… I guess I don’t want to say “mainstream,” but it doesn’t just represent maybe a less-conservative voice. So one of the biggest, I guess, shocks that I had when I got to Washington is I found that the Rules Committee actually controls all the legislation that hits the floor, and so you can’t just bring a bill to the floor and then call for a vote.

And that’s incredibly important because if you have a bill that you think might be great on behalf of the American people, and those people in that committee don’t agree with it, it doesn’t go to the floor. And so we’ve asked to diversify the conference. I can tell you that I haven’t asked for anything, that I actually have been focusing more or less on how do we decentralize power so that we avoid what’s happening in the House versus what’s happening in the Senate with McConnell?

CLAY: Anna, there’s been reports that President Trump has reached out to lobby on behalf of Kevin McCarthy. Has he reached out to you? Do you know if he has called any of the other holdouts to try to make the case that McCarthy makes the most sense?

REP.-ELECT LUNA: You know, I think President Trump, he respects our opinions individually and he trusts us to make the correct decisions. And remember, there are people who represent different districts that their people don’t want them to vote for McCarthy, and those people are not RINOs, are not, you know, not patriots. And I think that it’s important to note that the media has really tried to use this to divide the American people, to divide the House of Representatives. But I want everyone listening to this to understand, this entire time and really since November, we have been in discussions the entire time. Unfortunately, there was a little bit of a communications breakdown.

But that has been reestablished. This is in good faith, and this will move forward, and that’s where we really need to be. I can also tell you that I think President Trump wants what’s best for the American people, and you’re seeing that play out in real time, and so what you will see is transformative change. I have nothing but faith in this, and we have to let the process work out — and you know what? This is how Congress is supposed to function.

I think it’s funny when people think, you know, “Oh, my gosh! Congress is up there and they’re on C-SPAN, and, you know, they’re having discussions!” That’s what we’re supposed to do. And so I’m really glad because, you know, for two years with covid, this didn’t happen, but this also hasn’t happened in a hundred years. So we need the dialogue. The American people deserve it. And, you know, leadership needs to be held accountable, especially because of how things have gone over the last few decades.

BUCK: We’re speaking to Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna from the state of Florida. Anna, assuming the Speaker’s situation — that the Speaker of the House is chosen here in short order, which looks likely to be the case based on the trend in the voting. Top of the agenda this year. Clay and I’ve been talking about how we don’t have the Senate, we don’t have the presidency, obviously. But there are some things that the Republican House can do. And given the principles you’re laying out there and the agenda that you would like to see, what should be done? What can be done?

REP.-ELECT LUNA: I can tell you that what I want to see and what this can bring to the table is something that it doesn’t matter who the Speaker is, because it will allow the body to function in a different way than has been done before. My goals right now for, you know, what we need to do is we need to look into what’s really happening with the weaponization of the federal government against the American people. What is going on with the corruption that has existed in this House for far too long to where, you know, you have agencies like the FBI being used against the American people. I mean, why is it that there is a double standard that exists with Republican and Democrats where you have Democrats or people in office…?

For example, the Hunter Biden laptop. I mean, all of these things are questions the American people deserve. But I also understand that right now, Senate is controlled by Democrats, that the White House is controlled by Democrats. And so right now in this Congress, what we will have a chance and an opportunity to do is to show the American people what’s really happening, to get them answers, but also to set the floor, to set the stage for 2024.

And that is exactly what we’re doing right now, because in 2024, we do need to take back the White House. And I want to remind everyone listening that when we had the House, the Senate and the executive branch, that there were still things that President Trump was not able to get done. And it was because Congress was working against him, a Republican Congress. And with this being in place, I just… I don’t think that that will be the case anymore, because we will absolutely have an equal say in everything coming to the floor.

CLAY: Anna, do you think that we’ll have a Speaker today — or, if not today, when do you think this thing may be resolved?

REP.-ELECT LUNA: I can’t put a timeline on it. But what I can tell you is that, again, these negotiations are in good faith and in talks. And as this transpires and as this goes through, ultimately what we need to do is we need to make sure that we are just keeping the American people as informed as we can. And so, I don’t want to put a timeline on it. But what I will say is that, you know, we can operate in good faith. But if what we have on the table, if it’s not followed through with, then again, I reserve the right to change my vote.

Because I’m not just voting for a person. I’m voting to actually change the institution, and that’s what matters to me. It’s not personal, but this is very serious. And I do believe and as you’ll hear, I think tonight from Representative Massie on Tucker Carlson, this is probably the transformative change that maybe only comes once, you know, in our time. And I think that this will outlast — again, if we continue with these negotiations — any member of Congress who is here today.

BUCK: Anna — Anna Paulina Luna, Congress, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate talking to you as always.

REP.-ELECT LUNA: Thank you, bye.