Some like him, and some don’t.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will face two factions in approximately one week when Republicans select a new House speaker. He will need 218 votes to become speaker, but there will only be 222 Republicans in the chamber, so he can only lose five.
And would you believe it? Five Republican legislators have already stated that they will not vote for McCarthy. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) estimates that the Never Kevin movement has more than 20 members.
Should the five votes against McCarthy, the entire procedure will be disqualified. Another group of Republicans is working discreetly behind the scenes to find a replacement that can garner widespread support.
The Only Kevin group is significantly larger, according to The Daily Beast.
Dozens of GOP lawmakers, from moderates to MAGA loyalists, have stated that they will only vote for McCarthy for Speaker, regardless of the number of rounds of voting. This pledge to respond to hardball with hardball would essentially ensure that no other Republican comes close to the gavel, according to The Beast.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), a McCarthy supporter, told The Beast, “The people who support Kevin, who are far more numerous than his detractors, are just as entrenched as his detractors.” “There will be no pressure on them. For what will the people who brought down the entire structure be held accountable? For what reason? What conclusion?”
Good, however, ridiculed Cole’s assertion. “That’s funny,” Good said. “The bottom line is that Kevin will not be the speaker… The number of individuals who are adamantly opposed to voting for him is increasing, not decreasing.”
Good stated that Republicans must “move past the denial stage” and that the sooner they begin searching for a consensus candidate, “the better off we will all be.”
Politico reported last week that a group of lawmakers had approached Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), the current No. 2 House Republican leader, about running for speaker if McCarthy fails.
“Steve just is prepared,” a supporter of McCarthy told a liberal political website. After it became evident that Republicans had won control of the House late last month, Scalise ran unopposed for majority leader and won easily. The member stated that he “could be a good consensus leader if Kevin’s situation deteriorates.”
The situation is precarious. Scalise isn’t running openly for the position because it’s risky to challenge the powerful McCarthy: if someone tries and fails, they could be punished for their audacity.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) recently told The Hill, “If someone were to come out now and we didn’t deliver enough votes to stop Mr. McCarthy, there would be a real possibility of blowback.” “They wish to be extremely cautious. I, therefore, believe that people are interested. They’ve communicated it to some of us… I believe people are being cautious.”
