Staff Reports
The bid by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to become the next speaker of the House of Representatives is in jeopardy due to the lack of support from his own party.
In a secret ballot election held earlier this month, McCarthy only managed to secure 187 of the necessary votes to become the next House speaker. Out of these, 31 went to Andy Biggs, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. His refusal to support McCarthy's bid highlights the growing number of Republicans who are unwilling to support the minority leader. The lack of enthusiasm among the party's members during the 2022 elections also threatens McCarthy's chances of becoming the next speaker.
Biggs tweeted earlier this month after launching his bid for the gavel.
I've seen enough.
I cannot vote for Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker.
I do not believe he will ever get to 218 votes, and I refuse to assist him in his effort to get those votes.https://t.co/lyImFCOHgI
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) November 18, 2022
Some of the other Republicans who are unwilling to support McCarthy include Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, and Ralph Norman. Norman noted that McCarthy did not get a chance to gain the support of the members of the Republican Study Committee after he rejected the group's proposal to balance the budget. The RSC is a prominent group within the party and is responsible for over half of the House Republican Conference.
Some of the Republicans who have expressed their support for McCarthy's bid for the gavel include Jim Jordan and Georgia's Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The House speaker's floor vote will be held on January 3, which is the day before the new Congress begins. Since he only needs to secure a majority of the votes from the members on the floor, McCarthy will only be able to become the next speaker if he secures a majority of the votes. According to House rules, if a member of the House does not support McCarthy's bid, the final number of votes that he needs to secure will be lowered.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Washington Examiner.
