McCarthy elected House speaker following high-drama floor fight

Juliegrace Brufke

January 07, 12:31 AM January 07, 12:51 AM

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) won enough votes to become the next speaker of the House on Friday night after a heated, dayslong stalemate that broke when the GOP leader finally agreed to a series of concessions to his Republican opponents.

All of the remaining GOP holdouts voted "present" on the 15th ballot, lowering the threshold enough for McCarthy to get a majority of the votes. The vote followed a high-drama 14th ballot in which Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) could be seen pulling Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) back as he appeared to nearly get in an altercation with Gaetz over his vote, which tanked McCarthy in that round.

The GOP leader ultimately received 216 votes, to incoming Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries's (D-NY) 212.

The California Republican’s path to the speakership was rocky, with a group of conservatives withholding their support unless their demands for substantial rules changes were met. Multiple members cast doubt that he could ever get across the finish line after coming up significantly short on the first 13 rounds. But after reaching a consensus with the conservative hard-liners, caving to the majority of their asks, McCarthy was able to gain momentum on the fourth day of ballots, leaving just six "no" votes for his allies to flip.

After days of negotiations, McCarthy reached an agreement with most of his critics to allow a single member to force a vote to oust a sitting speaker; place more conservatives on coveted committees, including the powerful Rules Committee; cap discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels; establish a “church”-style committee to investigate the “weaponization” of the federal government; require that a raise in the debt ceiling be paired with spending cuts; and ban McCarthy’s super PAC from interfering in open primaries.

House Republicans falling short of their projected red wave in November left McCarthy with little room for error.

Thirty-six GOP lawmakers voted against him during their internal conference election on Nov. 15, putting before him a daunting task, as he could only lose four votes to get to 218 unless critics voted "present."

Five conservative hard-liners — former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Reps. Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Ralph Norman (R-SC) — quickly came out against him as “Never Kevin" members.

While the group pledged they would vote as a bloc and would not vote present to bring down the threshold, McCarthy was ultimately able to pick them off.

MCCARTHY CRITICS TAKE AIM AT SPEAKER HOPEFUL'S TACTICS TO SWAY VOTES

For weeks, the California Republican held forums on rules changes and meetings with members hesitant to back him, making compromises on an array of issues in hopes of flipping defectors. As his opponents dug in, he insisted he would bring the battle to the floor until he got the votes.

His efforts ultimately proved successful, with pro-McCarthy lawmakers working up until the final hours ahead of the vote late Friday evening.

“Persistence paid off,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner.

Former President Donald Trump was enlisted to make calls in hopes it would get conservatives on board, with McCarthy also enlisting the help of lawmakers popular among the base such as incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

McCarthy has long sought the speaker’s gavel, unexpectedly dropping out of the race to succeed former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) prior to the internal leadership elections in 2015 amid conservative opposition. Critics at the time took aim at a gaffe related to the Benghazi committee and raised questions about his personal life.

McCarthy was first elected to Congress in 2006 and saw a swift ascent in the leadership ranks, first being tapped to serve as chief deputy whip in 2009, then elected to serve as whip in 2011 before becoming House majority leader in 2014 and minority leader in 2019.

McCarthy scrambles for support on eve of Speaker vote

Juliegrace Brufke

January 02, 10:34 PM January 02, 10:34 PM

On the eve of the Speaker vote, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made an eleventh hour push to get the votes needed to lock down the support needed as a group of conservative defectors continue to threaten to derail his ability to get the gavel.

In the Speaker’s office in the Capitol — which McCarthy has moved into despite uncertainties over whether he will prevail on the floor — the California Republican met with a group of his supporters followed by a short meeting with three of his defectors — Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO), with members trickling in-and-out in hopes of getting the backing of the 218 members needed to secure the position.

MCCARTHY CRITICS TAKE AIM AT SPEAKER HOPEFUL'S TACTICS TO SWAY VOTES

Gaetz — one of the five early “Never Kevin” conservatives along with former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Reps. Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) — called the meeting “brief and productive,” but asserted he remains a hard no. One source familiar with the meeting stated that conservatives reiterated their demands for substantial rules changes, with critics arguing that McCarthy’s major concession in lowering the threshold on the motion to vacate the chair — a mechanism used to oust a sitting Speaker — down to five, asserting their call that it should be restored to its original form.

His critics are calling for additional changes, including placing conservative hardliners on “A” committees, a ban on leadership playing in primaries and “allowing ‘open rules’ on all major rule legislation” to provide rank-and-file members with more opportunities to amend bills, with outside conservative groups including Club for Growth pushing members to reject any Speaker who does not agree to implement their demands,

Both McCarthy allies and foes have voiced skepticism that he can get the gavel on the first ballot, with both sides asserting that they will stand by their respective positions as long as it’s necessary.

The Monday night meetings come on the heels of McCarthy — who won the internal leadership election with 36 GOP members voting against him — holding calls, meetings and forums on the rules in an effort to show that he is taking strides to hear conservatives concerns. But despite his efforts, due to the razor-thin majority after Republicans fell short of their anticipated red wave, the California Republican has faced significant hurdles similar to his first attempt to become Speaker in 2016, when members of the House Freedom Caucus voiced they would not support him on the floor, leading him to ultimately drop out of the race and remain on as majority leader.

While McCarthy has vowed to bring the fight to the floor this time around, his conservative critics have continued to cast doubt that he has a path to the position, with some voicing that they have concerns beyond the rules package, with some stating they have overarching trust issues.

Some members in the “Only Kevin” faction have asserted that they will vote down the rules package if anyone by McCarthy is elected

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a McCarthy advocate, has repeatedly stated he is willing to work across the aisle to find a moderate alternative if conservatives take down McCarthy.

Conservatives have largely remained mum on who they would like to see as a “consensus candidate,” with names including House Majority Leader-elect Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Financial Services Committee Chairman-elect Patrick McHenry (R-NC), House Rules Committee Chairman-elect Tom Cole (R-OK) and House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-LA) as potential contenders that they could support for the role.

Bacon told reporters on Monday that moderates have not ruled out putting up a candidate even if Scalise is pushed toward the position by conservatives, but noted that he maintains a good working relationship with the Louisiana Republican.

And conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has gone to bat for McCarthy, expressed frustrations with conservative holdouts.

“The problem is the people need to realize that, you know, the art of the deal. They're all Trump supporters, and you can't be successful if you're not willing to take the wins when you get them,” she said. “... Anyone that is going in there making deals for positions, committees, things for themselves, that's not the right thing to do.”

The House Republican conference is slated to meet at 9:30 a.m. to discuss a path forward on Tuesday, with the House gaveling in for official proceedings at noon.