Will the next U.S. House speaker be this congressman from the Fort Worth area?

A North Texas congressman has been floated as a potential replacement for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was booted from the leadership role in a historic vote Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, a Willow Park Republican, was mentioned as a potential speaker option during a CNN interview with Rep. Tim Burchett, one of eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy as speaker. All of Texas’ Republican House members voted against removing McCarthy, with the exception of two who were absent for the vote, according to the Texas Tribune.

Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, told CNN that the GOP has a deep bench to choose from when considering the next speaker.

“But the good thing about it is we have a very deep bench, you know, we’ve got Roger Williams out of Texas. Jodey Arrington out of Texas, Elise Stefanik, Tom Emmer,” Burchett said. “My buddy Steve Scalise that I know was calling around folks who I’ve talked to. Mark Greene out of Tennessee.”

Williams, in a statement, said there’s a “deep bench” of Republicans, including “several leaders who can unite us against the radical left.”

Williams didn’t say whether he was putting his name in the running, but said he’s “focused on confronting the problems the Biden Administration has given us: a crisis at our border, record-high inflation, and out-of-control spending by radical Democrats.”

“My entire career has been about managing teams and businesses and I know that a good manager must always be prepared to lead and do what’s right,” said Williams. “We have a deep bench in the Republican Conference who, like me, will never back down from fighting for our conservative values. We now have an important decision to make and there are several leaders who can unite us against the radical left. I trust that we can come together by putting America first and doing what’s right for the American people. It is time we got back to the business that we were sent to Washington to do.”

Williams’ congressional district covers much of the area between Arlington and Abilene and includes Callahan, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Stephens, Tarrant and Young counties. He was first elected to Congress in 2012.

Williams has deep ties to TCU. He played baseball for the Horned Frogs and coached the team in 1976. He serves on its Board of Trustees. Some wanted him removed from the board after he voted against certifying Joe Biden’s electoral votes following the 2020 election.

Some Texans in Congress have begun to weigh in on their picks for the next speaker. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, and Rep. Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, have both announced they’re running.

The Texas GOP delegation held its regularly scheduled lunch on Wednesday, which this week included speaker hopefuls, according to The Texas Tribune’s Washington reporter in posts on X, previously called Twitter.

Rep. Jake Ellzey, a Waxahacie Republican whose district includes parts of Arlington and Mansfield, said he’s “fully supporting” Scalise during an interview on “The Mark Davis Show” on KSKY 660-AM. Scalise is the House majority leader. In his interview with Ellzey, Davis said Scalise is “universally respected and admired.”

“As you said, he’s universally respected and trusted in both sides of the aisle and by the entire conference,” Ellzey said. “I’m sure that there will be a couple of other candidates, but I think if you have the majority of the majority, which we are ... then people should get in line, because we don’t have time to waste.”

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, a Lewisville Republican, told Davis his preference was Scalise.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in Steve,” Burgess said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.