RINO Rep. Carlo Gimenez, Who Voted Against Jim Jordan, Endorses Byron Donalds for House Speaker (VIDEO)

Speaker of the House among Republicans has heated up with a total of nine GOP lawmakers throwing their hats in the ring.

The latest addition is Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), who announced his candidacy on Sunday.

The nine GOP Reps running for Speaker: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Republican Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, RSC Chair Kevin Hern (Okla.), Reps. Byron Donalds (Fla.), Austin Scott (Ga.), Jack Bergman (Mich.), Pete Sessions (Texas), Gary Palmer (Ala.) and Dan Meuser (Pa.)

On Friday, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy endorsed Tom Emmer (MN) for the position. However, the endorsement did not deter others from joining the fray.

On Sunday, RINO Rep. Carlos Gimenez announced his support to Rep. Byron Donalds for House Speaker.

“As a fellow Floridian and as an America First Republican, I am proud to endorse my friend and colleague Byron Donalds for Speaker of the House. Byron is the present & future of our movement — he’s the conservative leader we need to unite us as Republicans,” he wrote on X.

NEW: As a fellow Floridian and as an America First Republican, I am proud to endorse my friend and colleague Byron Donalds for Speaker of the House.

Byron is the present & future of our movement — he’s the conservative leader we need to unite us as Republicans. pic.twitter.com/tlHfpbVkfo

— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) October 22, 2023

In a FOX News interview, Gimenez elaborated on his endorsement:

He’s a America first, a real conservative, somebody that I can back. Obviously, I’ve already said that he’s a friend. He’s also from my neighboring district. He’s fellow Floridian, also a classmate. And I was honored to endorse him and actually nominate him for conference chair. I think you’ll be a great speaker, somebody that can unify all factions in the Republican Party. And look, it’s not like we have liberals and moderates. We actually have conservatives and more conservatives, and it’s within that range. But you need to unify our party and get moving forward. I think you’d be a great national figure. I think you’d be a great fundraiser for us. And he understands the need for the Republican Party to maintain its majority and actually increase its majority. So I’ll be happy to endorse and vote for Byron.

BREAKING: I am proud to endorse my friend, fellow Floridian, and America First Republican Byron Donalds for Speaker of the House.

Byron is the conservative leader we need to unite us as Republicans. pic.twitter.com/4NMjcm5GAU

— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) October 22, 2023

However, Donalds is not without critics within his own party. The continuing resolution authored by Donalds, which purportedly slashed government spending by 8%, has been a bone of contention. Rep. Matt Gaetz lambasted Donalds last month amid the government shutdown.

Gaetz said, “I oppose the CR authored by my friend and colleague from Florida, Byron Donalds. The Donalds. The Donalds CR continues the Ukraine policy negotiated by Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Mitch McConnell in the omnibus that conservatives were against. The Donalds CR is a permission slip for Jack Smith to continue his election interference as they are trying to gag the former president of the United States and the leading contender for the Republican nomination.”

“Just to continue things with some facial 8% cut over 30 days that will lead to no programmatic reforms is an insult to the principles we fought for in January,” Gaetz added.

The 8 percent cut is for 30 days.

The border policy will be ignored by Biden.

This CR funds the election interference of Jack Smith.

This is a terrible bill, lumping the funding of disparate agencies of government into one BAD VOTE.

This isn’t what we fought for in January.…

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) September 18, 2023