'Ashamed and embarrassed': Dozens of House Republicans laud McCarthy, accuse colleagues of abandoning and undermining GOP conference

 In the wake of the House speakership ouster, dozens of House Republicans joined together in a letter praising Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and accusing the eight Republicans who voted for his removal of abandoning and undermining the House GOP conference, according to a copy of the document posted by Fox News Digital.

The letter, which is signed by 45 lawmakers, describes McCarthy as "one of the most accomplished Republican leaders in modern history." 

"Earlier this week, eight Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined in an alliance with 208 Democrats to adopt a motion to vacate the Speaker of the House," the letter reads. "Worse still, just last Friday, seven of these eight individuals also joined with Democrats to defeat the most conservative funding and border security package in history."

Following his ouster, McCarthy said he would not seek the speakership again. Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio have both mounted bids to fill the slot. 

Former President Donald Trump has backed Jordan, writing in a post on Truth Social that Jordan "will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!" Other figures, including GOP Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have thrown their support behind Jordan. 

"Ashamed and embarrassed by what happened on the Floor this week, we refuse to allow the eight members who abandoned and undermined our Conference to dictate every outcome in policy and personnel for the remainder of this Congress, including the upcoming selection of the Speaker of the House," the letter reads.

"It is our responsibility to identify the right person at this moment to lead us into the future to achieve the conservative policy objectives that we and the American people all share. We cannot allow our majority to be dictated to by the alliance between the chaos caucus and the minority party that will do nothing more than guarantee the failure of our next Speaker," the letter declares. "The injustice we all witnessed cannot go unaddressed—lest we bear responsibility for the consequences that follow. Our Conference must address fundamental changes to the structure of our majority to ensure success for the American people."