House GOP civil war erupts as McCarthy wins speaker nod
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy overcame opposition from members of his own party to win the GOP nomination for House speaker Tuesday as his colleagues blamed him for Republicans’ weaker-than-expected showing in last week’s midterm elections.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) defeated challenger Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) by a 188-31 vote among the House Republican Conference on Tuesday, coming 30 votes short of the 218 he will need from the full House on Jan. 3 to succeed his fellow Golden Stater Nancy Pelosi — and necessitating weeks of wheeling and dealing with the holdouts.
“We’re going to have the ability to change America,” an upbeat McCarthy told reporters as he entered the closed-door meeting.
But other house Republicans, seething after the midterm results and the lack of a “red wave,” publicly broke with their leader.
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said at a closed-door meeting Monday that the GOP “got rolled” before announcing he would oppose McCarthy’s bid to become speaker.
“Kevin McCarthy has not done anything to earn my vote for speaker,” Good said, according to the Daily Caller.
McCarthy has little wiggle room, with Republicans expected to only achieve one or two seats more than the 218 needed to narrowly control the chamber.
Biggs, the former chair of the influential House Freedom Caucus, stepped up to challenge McCarthy, saying he wanted to take the caucus in a “different direction.”
“We have a new paradigm here, and I think the country wants a different direction from the House of Representatives,” Biggs told Newsmax Monday night.
“The promised red wave turned into a loss of the United States Senate, a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives, and upset losses of premiere political candidates,” Biggs said in a statement announcing his challenge.
McCarthy said he drew support from Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a member of the Freedom Caucus, and far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Greene, who was elected to a second term last week, cautioned Republicans Monday about opposing McCarthy for speaker, calling it a “bad strategy” that could bring unexpected consequences.
“It’s very, very risky right now to produce a leadership challenge, especially for speaker of the House, when they are going to open the door and allow Liz Cheney, possibly, to become speaker,” she said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), one of two Republicans serving on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, was defeated in a Republican primary in Wyoming in August. However, that does not preclude her from becoming speaker, since House rules allow non-members to hold the post.
Meanwhile, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) correctly predicted Monday that McCarthy would not have the initial support to prevail in a House-wide election.
“Kevin McCarthy does not have 218 votes to become speaker now,” he said. “I don’t think he has 200.”
McCarthy made his pitch for the leadership during a caucus meeting Monday, telling colleagues that he would boot California Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff from their House committees if Republicans take over.
“They don’t give out gavels in small, medium, and large — we have the majority and we have the gavels,” McCarthy said at the meeting, according to CNN.
In the party’s other leadership votes, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was nominated for the Majority Leader position, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) defeated Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) on the second ballot to be nominated for Majority Whip and upstate Rep. Elise Stefanik will keep her post as conference chair, turning back a challenge from Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)
Republicans were widely expected to regain control of the House and Senate in the midterms due to historical trends, President Biden’s low approval ratings, and Americans’ disappointment with Democrats over the economy and higher crime rates.
But Democrats retained control of the Senate, and a Dec. 6 runoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker in Georgia will determine if they pick up 51 seats.
The underwhelming performance has not only caused some Republicans to doubt McCarthy’s leadership in the House, but also Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s prospects in the Senate.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who led the National Republican Senatorial Committee in this past election cycle, announced Tuesday he would challenge McConnell (R-Ky.) when the Senate GOP holds its elections, scheduled for Wednesday.
Scott had previously led a charge to postpone the vote until after the Georgia runoff, along with Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas.
“The old party is dead,” Hawley tweeted over the weekend. “Time to bury it. Build something new.”
With Post wires
