Conservative Radio Hosts Going After Montana Congressman

Conservative radio talk show hosts Mark Levin and Hugh Hewitt are going after Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT02) and a handful of other House Republicans amidst yet another battle over the Speaker of the House.

This, as Fox News is now reporting on a story that Congressman Rosendale had prayed for a smaller GOP majority in Congress.

Fox News had this report available on Monday night:

A Republican congressman and member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus admitted last week he "was praying" the GOP would win just a "small" majority in the House of Representatives ahead of the 2022 midterm elections in order to shift the party further to the right, according to video obtained Monday by Fox News Digital.

Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who is heard locally on KJJR Radio in Kalispell, had this reaction when the story was first reported by The Messenger.

Hugh Hewitt: Maryland Matt Rosendale is not actually interested in the best interest of Montana voters. He’s like a bad character in “Yellowstone,” a new arrival with a hat that doesn’t fit.

Another conservative radio host, Mark Levin (who is also heard on several radio stations here in Montana), targeted Rosendale and a handful of other Republicans for voting against the rest of the Republican majority.

Here's the report from Monday's Politico Playbook:

Conservative talk show host MARK LEVIN is also on a rampage against Gaetz — blaming his faction, not McCarthy, for the spending punt: “They rant and rave without a plan and without a real objective and now we get this 45 day CR. THEY did this.”

I reached out to Congressman Rosendale's team for reaction to this story. (Story updated below)

Will Rosendale support the effort by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to try and oust Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)? The Daily Caller has this as of Tuesday morning:

At least one other Republican, Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona, supports removing McCarthy from office, while several other House conservatives who voted against the continuing resolution have not yet articulated their positions. Crane and Gaetz’s backing means that McCarthy can only afford to lose three other House Republicans.

While he hasn't spoken publicly about the potential ouster vote, Rosendale was quoted by the BBC as saying this over the weekend.

Matt Rosendale told reporters on Saturday that "you can't form a coalition of more Democrats than you have Republicans who you're supposed to be the leader of, and not think that there's going to be serious, serious fallout".

In response to the stories above, Congressman Rosendale's office issued this statement:

The proof is in the pudding.

• Restoring regular order to Congress by amending the rules to include 72 hours to review bills before voting, single-subject legislation, and the promise of the 12 appropriations bills.
• H.R. 1 the Lower Energy Costs Act, which passed the House but sits in the Senate.
• H.R. 2 the Secure the Border Act, the most comprehensive and conservative border and immigration package that has ever been passed. Passed by the House and sits in the Senate.
• Limit Save Grow debt ceiling package, which froze spending levels and clawed back unspent COVID and Green New Deal funds. It also included H.R. 1 and had a limited debt ceiling increase. Passed the House and sits in the Senate.
• National Defense Authorization Act, which included the largest pay raise for our troops in 20 years and also eliminated unconstitutional detention. It also eliminated taxpayer transgender surgeries and abortion. Passed the House and sits in the Senate.
• Passed 4 of the 12 appropriations bills, which covers 90% of federal government funding, once mandatory spending is included.

This Congress, the House has passed more of the conservative agenda than virtually any other Congress in anyone’s memory. This was done because a small group of individuals stood up and said the status quo must go. Unfortunately, much of this good work has been stalled because of Speaker McCarthy working against conservatives and the United States Senate.