Southwest Missouri's new U.S. representative among Kevin McCarthy supporters

Jan. 7—U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison stepped away after casting his 13th vote for Kevin McCarthy to describe his first week in Washington, D.C., as the 7th District's new lawmaker.

"I feel like I'm living 'Groundhog Day,'" he said Friday, referring to the movie in which the main character gets trapped in a time loop that repeats again and again.

"Or in purgatory," he added.

Burlison cast each of his votes for McCarthy to be the next speaker of the House.

"I voted for him from the beginning, and I'm still with him," he said Friday afternoon.

McCarthy picked up more supporters early Friday but still did not secure enough votes to be elected speaker.

Burlison said he shares some of the objectives and concerns of those who have withheld their support from McCarthy, and that includes rule changes that would transfer power from the speaker back to individual members of Congress. Burlison also said he believes McCarthy has been supportive of making that happen, based on comments McCarthy has made.

"That made me feel confident in McCarthy, so long as he was moving in that direction. ... Whoever is in that role, I don't know that I trust anybody with that much power."

In his bid for the U.S. House, Burlison was endorsed last fall by the House Freedom Fund, which is supported by the House Freedom Caucus, which had backed conservative candidates, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., who were among those looking for an alternative to McCarthy this week.

Burlison also said he is concerned that whoever could be put forward if McCarthy fails might not follow through on transferring power back to the individual House members.

"What is the alternative?" he said. "The alternative kinds of scares me. We might end up with someone worse, and we might not get the rule changes."

U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, whose 2nd District includes Southeast Kansas, also supported McCarthy from the beginning.

However, U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen, whose 2nd District includes Northeast Oklahoma, had until Friday cast votes first for Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and afterward for U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. He joined a number of others and switched his vote to McCarthy on Friday.

The speaker is the leader of the majority party in the House for the next two years, and also second in line of presidential succession, right after the vice president.

Failure to elect a speaker locks up one-half of Congress, which holds the purse — meaning the raising and spending of money — as well as the power to declare war. The House also can't debate and pass legislation, vote on rules to govern the chamber, create committees, or conduct oversight and investigations.

"The only thing we can vote for is the speaker," Burlison said.

He mentioned as a goal, once the speaker is chosen, reining in federal spending. He said rule changes that he supports would make it more difficult to pass bills with expenditures, as well as omnibus bills that often include diverse and unrelated topics.

Burlison also said he also wants to put the country on the road toward a balanced budget in the next 10 years and "provide oversight into abuses of power by this (Biden) administration."

He also said he wanted to prioritize spending on roads and bridges, mentioning expansions of Interstates 44 and 49 in Southwest Missouri.

Although he has not been sworn in, and can't be until a speaker is chosen, he said his office is set up to provide constituent services, including those who may have trouble with passports, benefits and other federal functions, and said they are able to work on cases. He also noted that he has kept several staff members who worked in the office for his predecessor, Billy Long.

Besides his Washington office, Burlison has a Springfield district office at 3232 E. Ridgeview St., with a telephone number of 417-889-1800, and said he is keeping the Joplin district office at 2727 E. 32nd St. with a phone number of 417-781-1041. He also has a website constituents can use to reach him, https://

burlison.house.gov.

Also this week, Eric Schmitt, elected in November, was sworn in as Missouri's newest U.S. senator, succeeding the retiring Roy Blunt.

Schmitt does not have a Joplin office, but has one in Springfield at 2740 E. Sunshine, Ste. B. No telephone number was listed.

"I'm truly humbled and honored by the opportunity to continue to serve the people of the great state of Missouri as a United States senator," Schmitt said in a statement this week after being sworn in. "I will continue to serve as a champion for all Missourians, to fight for the farmers, the small business owners, and Missouri parents and families, and will continue to push back on government intrusion and overreach at every step. This is a new day, and I'm excited for what comes next."

Andy Ostmeyer is the metro editor at the Globe. He is a graduate of Kansas State University who has worked at the Globe for 38 years. His email address is aostmeyer@joplinglobe.com.