McCarthy listens on as Fox News reporter breaks down how Dem Hakeem Jeffries could end up Speaker
December 9, 2022 | Chris Donaldson
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s road to the speakership for the incoming GOP majority remains blocked by a number of lawmakers who continue to oppose his leadership, potentially resulting in the nightmare scenario of a Democrat replacing Nancy Pelosi.
In what had to be an uncomfortable moment for the California Republican, Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram broke down how resistance to McCarthy could result in election denier Hakeem Jeffries becoming the next Speaker of the House as he listened on.
During Thursday’s edition of “The Story,” anchor Martha MacCallum told viewers that McCarthy was on the set before cutting to Pergram to open the segment with his explanation of how the one bright spot of the largely disappointing midterm elections with Republicans retaking the House could go sour.
“Here’s the key, the winning candidate must secure an outright majority of all members voting for someone by name,” Pergram said. “McCarthy opponents contend 20 members oppose his bid for speaker,” before cutting to Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona who is mounting a challenge to McCarthy becoming Speaker.
“It’s clear Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have 218, he’s not gonna have 218, the sooner that we get past the denial and the anger stage and move right on through depression and into acceptance that it’s not going to be Kevin McCarthy and we can consider openly other candidates who can build the coalition to 218 the better off we’ll be,” Biggs said as he dug in against McCarthy.
“Let’s run the math in a hypothetical scenario,” Pergram said. “The House starts with one vacancy. The GOP will have 222 members next year. If all 20 McCarthy opponents vote ‘present,’ that means McCarthy only gets 202 votes. If all 212 Democrats vote for Hakeem Jeffries, he becomes speaker.”
“Jeffries secured an outright majority of all members who voted for someone by name,” he said while adding that it was “unlikely” to happen and that by the time that the alphabetical roll call of the vote plays out, some of McCarthy’s opponents could get cold feet. “We often say it’s about the math, but this is about parliamentary algebra, we don’t know the number needed until the vote is complete. It’s not necessarily 218.”
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