'It's all in jeopardy': McCarthy says GOP opponents of House speaker bid have not budged
by Emily Jacobs, Weekend News Editor
December 17, 2022 08:31 PM
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warned that the Republicans opposing his speakership bid have not budged, accusing the group of placing the party's ability to govern the next Congress "in jeopardy."
McCarthy, who currently lacks the 218 votes necessary to secure the speaker's gavel next month, appeared to raise the stakes regarding what could happen if the five GOP lawmakers who oppose him as party leader refuse to change their minds while appearing on Hugh Hewitt's radio show Friday. The top-ranking House Republican won the speaker nomination with nearly 85% support from his conference in a closed-door vote last month. He has since secured 26 of the 31 no votes, but the five defections leave him one vote short of the 218 necessary, as Republicans only hold a four-seat majority in the next Congress.
Asked about those five GOP lawmakers: former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Bob Good (R-VA), and Ralph Norman (R-SC), and the status of negotiations with them, McCarthy said, "Well, we’re still continuing to talk, but they have not moved."
"And the difficulty here is that, you know, we are the only Republican entity stopping the Biden administration, but we’re also going to be the only ones that can move forward," he continued. "But it would delay everything, getting committees up and running, being able to do the things that you know we need to get done from the very beginning.”
Hewitt, a longtime conservative radio host, noted his belief that the defections were not only holding up the ability for Republicans to begin their work in the majority but also the ability for the party to recruit 2024 House candidates.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/kevin-mccarthy-hugh-hewitt-gop-opposition-speaker-bid
