Eli Crane says he's hopeful that the next Speaker of the House will be 'America First'

Arizona GOP Rep. Eli Crane said that the next House speaker should be an elected official who supports "America First" policies. 

"I am hopeful that we get a more conservative, America First speaker to lead us through these tough times," Crane said on the Wednesday edition of the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. 

Crane was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust California Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker on Tuesday. Many of them initially opposed McCarthy's speakership, and cited recent budget negotiations as the reason for ousting him.

"Honestly, I don't think that – at least the eight of us that stood up and participated in yesterday's event with the speaker – I think that if we actually threw a name out there on who we want to be speaker, I think it would be counterproductive just because the emotions are high up here," Crane said. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) both announced Wednesday that they would be running to be the next speaker. 

Crane said that he didn't enjoy ousting McCarthy, but there needed to be a change in leadership. 

"I take no pleasure in ousting Kevin McCarthy," Crane said. "That's just the humanity in me. When I owned my own company, I never liked firing anybody. But the fact of the matter is, this country is in massive trouble.

"A lot of it stems from the corruption, the swamp and the status quo in this town, and everybody knows it," he added. "The only way that it's ever going to change ... is if people come up here, and they're willing to take the hard vote."