As of yesterday, McCarthy did not have enough votes to become Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Kevin McCarthy was former Speaker Paul Ryan’s pick to lead the House Republicans after Paul Ryan abruptly left Congress. He now is in the position of running for Speaker of the House following the GOP’s win in the November midterm election. However, his actions while in leadership are too much for many conservatives to support him as Speaker.
Rep. Matt Gaetz from Florida doesn’t believe that McCarthy, based on his record, is who is needed as Speaker.
Matt Gaetz: Americans Want an Honest and Hard-Working Speaker of the House – Not Kevin McCarthy
Last night FOX News reported that some Republicans believe McCarthy as Speaker would “continue past and ongoing Republican failures”.
McCarthy needs 218 votes to become Speaker. This House has 222 Republicans in it.
FOX reports:
On Sunday afternoon, McCarthy met with GOP members to try and rally support for his speakership vote on Jan. 3, when the new Congress takes office. The embattled Republican leader conceded rank-and-file members will be allowed to call for the speaker’s removal, though he wasn’t clear about how many members would need to sign on to the motion, according to reports.
The meeting came after his letter on New Year’s Eve, titled “Restoring the People’s House and Ending Business as Usual,” which was his admission of the deep dysfunction of the House of Representatives and his pitch to make it right.
In response to McCarthy’s letter, GOP Reps. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Chip Roy of Texas, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Andy Harris of Maryland and Andrew Clyde of Georgia, along with Rep.-elects Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Eli Crane of Arizona sent a letter of their own.
“Regrettably, however, despite some progress achieved, Mr. McCarthy’s statement comes almost impossibly late to address continued deficiencies ahead of the opening of the 118th Congress on January 3rd,” the letter stated. “At this state, it cannot be a surprise that expressions of vague hopes reflected in far too many of the crucial points still under debate are insufficient. This is especially true with respect to Mr. McCarthy’s candidacy for speaker because the times call for radical departure from the status quo – not a continuation of past and ongoing, Republican failures.”
If McCarthy wants to win the House he will have to win over some of these individuals or pick up some Democrats. Some believe he may give the Democrats unheard-of power in the House so he can win Speakership. This would prove that those Republicans who don’t want a Speaker McCarthy were right all along.
Others believe that a different leader in the GOP will be selected. Individuals like Jim Jordan have been mentioned. Others believe that Congress needs a strong leader who could stand up to the Deep State and DC Establishment. President Trump’s name has been mentioned in this regard. He would certainly shake things up.
We’ll see what happens. The House is expected to vote for Speaker on Tuesday.
History shows that those in power rarely give it up.