House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy secured the Republican nomination for Speaker of the House on Tuesday.
However, a determined drive by some House conservatives to stop McCarthy may compel him to ultimately appeal to Democrats or withdraw from the race entirely if it continues..
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy proposed Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, would challenge McCarthy as House Republican caucus leader.
McCarthy then proceeded to win the election, defeating Biggs by a vote of 188-31.
McCarthy will need at least 218 votes to become the next Speaker of the House in January.
Biggs and Roy planned the attempt as House conservatives sought to remove McCarthy over disagreements they had with the Republican leader over the caucus’s direction and the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections.
Many Republicans were dismayed and angered by the election results, results which had Republicans eking out a small majority of approximately 220 seats.
McCarthy has emphasized that Republicans must unite in order to maintain their expected tiny majority.
McCarthy supporters have allegedly already attempted to try and persuade at least one moderate Democrat, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, to switch sides.
If did actually Cuellar’s decide to switch sides, it would bolster Republicans’ already tenuous grasp on the House.
McCarthy has disputed that he ever directed anyone to reach out to Cuellar directly however.
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