CNN
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As a right-wing faction threatens to tank his speakership ambitions, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a promise: “I’ll never leave,” making clear he has no plans to drop out of the race even if the fight goes to many ballots on the floor.
“I’ll get 218,” McCarthy told CNN, referring to the votes he’d need to become House speaker.
But Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a conservative hardliner who is challenging McCarthy to be the most powerful member of Congress, doubled down on his commitment to stop the California Republican’s ascension.
“I’m not bluffing,” Biggs told CNN on Thursday when asked if he would drop out.
With the increasing likelihood that the speaker’s race could go to multiple ballots – something that hasn’t happened since 1923 – McCarthy’s allies and foes alike are starting to quietly game out the next steps if he can’t get the necessary 218 votes on the first round and they move into uncharted territory.
<div data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_556f0201bb49992357738bb1f2fc5ca7-h_393416c349b765a8a140c535900e88bf@published" data-component-name="video-resource" data-editable="settings" class="video-resource" data-video-id="politics/2022/11/13/nancy-pelosi-kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-paul-pelosi-voter-turnout-midterm-election-sotu-bash-vpx.cnn" data-live="" data-analytics-aggregate-events="true" data-custom-experience="" data-asset-type="" data-medium-env="prod" data-autostart="false" data-chromeless="false" data-show-ads="true" data-featured-video="true" data-headline="Bash asks Pelosi if McCarthy has what it takes to be House Speaker. See her response" data-description="CNN anchor Dana Bash asks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) if she believes the attack on her husband, Paul Pelosi, affected voter turnout and what she thinks as Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as House Speaker if Republicans win the majority in Congress. " data-duration="02:37" data-source-html=" – Source:
CNN
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Bash asks Pelosi if McCarthy has what it takes to be House Speaker. See her response
McCarthy’s supporters are vowing to keep voting for him on multiple ballots, and GOP sources said there are early discussions about a floor strategy for that potential scenario, including whether to recess the House or let the votes keep rolling – no matter how long it takes.
To prevent that from happening, McCarthy and his team have been engaged in serious talks with a group of conservatives, including over potentially giving them influential committee assignments and more power to drive the legislative process. GOP sources said those negotiations are still early in the process and could ultimately end up giving the group some aspect of what the hardliners desperately want: additional power to seek a sitting speaker’s ouster with a vote on the floor.
Asked if he would drop out of the race if he doesn’t get 218 votes on the first ballot, Biggs refused to say.
“I’m not going to talk about hypotheticals,” said Biggs, who lost his conference’s nomination to become speaker last month after securing 31 votes.
But in the case of a doomsday scenario – where neither McCarthy nor Biggs can get 218 votes on January 3 and neither drops out – some pro-McCarthy Republicans are signaling support for a different approach. Some said they would be willing to work with Democrats to find a moderate Republican who can get the 218 votes to clinch the gavel – a long-shot idea that underscores the uncertainty looming over the speaker’s race.
“Our initial plan is vote for Kevin and let him fight this out repeatedly. … But if they think they’re going to use this to infinity to drive him out, well, we’re not going to bend to their will,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican.
Bacon added if GOP hardliners don’t bend, then he would be willing to work with Democrats to find another more moderate Republican to secure the 218 votes to become speaker.
“If a small group refuses to play ball and be part of the team, then we’ll work across the aisle to find an agreeable Republican,” Bacon said. “But I hope we don’t get there.”
McCarthy’s detractors don’t buy it.
“There are very significant rules, changes being discussed that would open the House up, that would be transformative, that would give us the ability to actually legislate and represent our constituents,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida who said he’s a “hard no” on McCarthy. “And whoever is speaker is going to have to agree to those rules, I think. And I don’t think that person will be Kevin McCarthy because Kevin McCarthy won’t have 218 votes.”
Gaetz added: “I think the person who is ultimately going to be the speaker isn’t even the candidate yet.”
Indeed, the small group of Republicans known as the “Never Kevin” movement – confident that Biggs could not win a majority of the House – has been trying to recruit a viable alternative, and claim “several” Republicans have privately told them they would be interested in running if McCarthy drops out. Their goal with voting for Biggs is to show that McCarthy is weak on the first ballot, which they hope would inspire other candidates to jump in.
“How many members vote for someone else will show the strength (of the anti-McCarthy group),” Rep. Bob Good, a Virginia Republican who is a “hard no” on McCarthy, told CNN. “I think the second ballot is going to have more candidates. … There are already Republicans letting us know they’d like to be considered.”
Even House Republicans who are supporting McCarthy predicted that a number of lawmakers would run if McCarthy withdrew his name, with some saying that House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, McCarthy’s top deputy, would emerge as the front runner in that case.
“If at some point, if Kevin did take his name out, then you would have good people (running). Scalise would probably be the guy,” one GOP lawmaker said.
Scalise has repeatedly vowed to support McCarthy and refused to speculate on whether he would jump into the race if the GOP leader can’t get the votes.
“No, I’m not going to get into speculation,” Scalise told CNN. “Obviously, our focus is on getting it resolved by January 3. And there’s a lot of conversations that everybody has been having, Kevin, surely, with the members who have expressed concerns.”
Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative set to become the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, went even further, ruling out jumping into the race even though Gaetz and other hardliners have urged him to seek the speakership.
“No,” Jordan said when asked if he’d run if McCarthy couldn’t get the votes. “I want to chair the Judiciary Committee.”
With 222 GOP seats next year, McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes and still win the speakership. But he and his team are still hopeful he can win on the first round as he has been working both publicly and privately to win over holdouts. So far, at least five Republicans have promised to oppose him on the floor – but in a positive sign for McCarthy, one of them has shown he’s gettable.
“I will vote for Andy for speaker, subject to what we’re discussing,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican after leaving a meeting in McCarthy’s office on Wednesday. He later added: “All this is positive. We’re having good change, regardless of what happens. And you’ll see more of it.”
In addition to those five, a new group of seven Republican hardliners on Thursday laid out a list of conditions to earn their vote, although they did not specifically threaten to vote against McCarthy if their demands aren’t met.
<div data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_e6b58010849f33d9393c0c636c5bd30f-h_393416c349b765a8a140c535900e88bf@published" data-component-name="video-resource" data-editable="settings" class="video-resource" data-video-id="politics/2022/11/23/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-of-the-house-vote-vpx-cnntm.cnn" data-live="" data-analytics-aggregate-events="true" data-custom-experience="" data-asset-type="" data-medium-env="prod" data-autostart="false" data-chromeless="false" data-show-ads="true" data-featured-video="true" data-headline="GOP lawmaker explains why he won't vote for McCarthy to become House Speaker" data-description="Kevin McCarthy is looking to become the next Speaker of the House after Republicans won the majority in the US House of Representatives, but he doesn't currently have the votes within his party. CNN's Melanie Zanona reports." data-duration="03:08" data-source-html=" – Source:
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GOP lawmaker explains why he won’t vote for McCarthy to become House Speaker
