.GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy on track to fail first ballot vote for speaker
At least 10 GOP lawmakers voted against him Tuesday afternoon as they push for the conference to rally around a different “consensus candidate.”
The chamber is slated to move on to a second ballot for the first time since 1923, with McCarthy allies hoping that he garners more support as both the “Never Kevin” and “Only Kevin” factions of the GOP vow to go as many ballots as it takes.
After the GOP fell short of its anticipated red wave, McCarthy faced a steeper climb in gaining the gavel, with the margins in the House allowing him just four defections on the floor unless his critics choose to vote present or not vote to bring down the threshold.While the California Republican has made strides to meet with potential defectors and strike a compromise, his efforts were not enough to sway the support needed for the first round.
Five conservatives — former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs , Reps. Matt Gaetz , Bob Good , Ralph Norman , and Matt Rosendale — said that they would not support McCarthy on the floor and would continue to vote as a bloc in the weeks leading up to the start of the new Congress. While talk of centrists working with Democrats to pick another candidate was floated in November, various GOP factions claimed that they would rally around McCarthy until the end on Thursday.
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