Why these two Tennessee members of Congress should consider running for House Speaker

Nearly 90 years have passed since a member of Congress representing Tennessee served as Speaker of the House.

John Bell and James K. Polk held the position in the 1830s and Joseph Byrns served from 1935-1936. Polk eventually became the 11th U.S. president while Bell ran for president unsuccessfully in 1860.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is reeling without leader in place at a critical time with the new war in Israel and the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. Government could shut down by mid-November without congressional action.

Business is not happening as it should and while representatives from Ohio and Louisiana entered the Speaker's race, could it be time for a Volunteer State member of Congress to take the reins again?

On Oct. 11, Republicans selected Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, over Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as their candidate for Speaker. However, the next day, Scalise dropped out of the race due to not securing enough support from his own caucus. On Oct. 13, Jordan was picked as Republican's new nominee; he still must gain a majority of the votes in the House. He failed to do so in two rounds of voting on Oct. 17 and 18.

Whoever the next Speaker is ought to be someone who cares about governing and who can create bipartisan cooperation in a bitterly divided House. As Republicans are in the majority, the person would presumably need to be from their caucus to pick up enough support.

Remember, it took just eight Republicans who joined all the voting Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post due to the rules he accepted to get the job that required 15 rounds of voting. The new speaker will need broad support and also show a history of supporting stability.

The ideal candidate in my mind should have voted for the continuing resolution on Sept 30 to keep the federal government running and also to keep McCarthy in place on Oct. 3.

Another view: Most Tennessee Congress members vote for a shutdown, showing a disinterest in governing

How Tennessee's House delegation voted on the government shutdown and Kevin McCarthy's ouster

Let's re-examine how the Tennessee House delegation voted on these two fronts: McCarthy's post and avoiding a government shutdown.

Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-District 1

She voted for McCarthy and against the continuing resolution (CR).

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-District 2

He voted against McCarthy and against the CR.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-District 3

He voted for McCarthy and for the CR.

Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-District 4

He voted for McCarthy and against the CR.

Where do they stand? Here’s who Tennessee's House Republicans are backing in the race for House Speaker

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-District 5

He voted for McCarthy and against the CR.

Rep. John Rose, R-District 6

He voted for McCarthy and against the CR.

Rep. Mark Green, R-District 7

He voted for McCarthy and against the CR.

Rep. David Kustoff, R-District 8

He voted for McCarthy and for the CR.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-District 9

He voted against McCarthy and for the CR.

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Based on their votes, here are the ideal candidates for U.S. Speaker of the House

Consider these notes before we get to the ideal candidates on paper.

Burchett supported McCarthy in his original bid for Speaker but turned on him over the continuing resolution compromise.

Ogles joined the group of insurgents who made it extremely hard for McCarthy to win the job, but he decided to support the former Speaker in the Oct. 3 ouster vote. Would he make it just as hard for the next Speaker to get elected?

Meanwhile, Green is the only member of the Tennessee delegation to hold a leadership position. He is chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and he has aspirations for higher office, but could his vote against the continuing resolution could be a hindrance? He sided with Congressman Jim Jordan.

Jordan of Ohio voted against the continuing resolution while still backing McCarthy's reign. Meanwhile, Congressman Scalise voted both to support the CR and McCarthy.

The ideal candidates from Tennessee, if this Speaker race is not resolved soon, would be Reps. Chuck Fleischmann and David Kustoff. Both are Republican and approved keeping both the government open and McCarthy in power.

Fleischmann is a lawyer from the Chattanooga area. He was first elected to Congress in 2010.

Kustoff is a lawyer from Memphis who was appointed as U.S. attorney for Western Tennessee during the George W. Bush presidential administration. He was elected to Congress in 2016.

Incidentally, they both told the USA TODAY Network Tennessee that they backed Scalise. However, they threw their support to Jordan along with the other Tennessee Republicans. Then, Jordan lost three votes for Speaker and on Friday dropped out as the Republican nominee. It's back to the drawing board.

Neither Fleischmann nor Kustoff have publicly indicated a desire to run for the top leadership post in the House, but they should, especially if a compromise candidate is needed. And it looks like one is needed now. This unprecedented leadership vacuum in the House requires elected officials to step up.

The time for games and political one-upmanship needs to be a relic of the past. We need serious leaders who want to govern.

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters.. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: House Speaker race: Two Tennessee members of Congress should jump in