In just a few short weeks, Republicans will vote for the next speaker of the House. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
Despite McCarthy being next in line to receive the throne, several GOP members have openly voiced their opposition to it.
McCarthy is warning that Republicans who have opposed his speaker bid are not willing to budge on their decision, adding that his chance of governing the next Congress “is in jeopardy.”
The GOP lawmakers who declined to change their mind on the matter are House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Bob Good (R-VA), and Ralph Norman (R-SC).
“Well, we’re continuing to talk, but they have not moved,” McCarthy said of the Republicans, adding “the difficulty here is that, you know, we are the only Republican entity stopping the Biden administration, but we’re also going to be the only ones that can move forward… but it would delay everything, getting committees up and running, being able to do the things that you know we need to get done from the very beginning.”
However, McCarthy is confident the five GOP members would eventually stand down “in the end.”
Currently, McCarthy is down the necessary 218 votes to secure the speaker's bid next month. In November, he won 85 percent support in a closed-door vote. Since then, he has won 26 of the 31 no votes, however, the Republicans who oppose him for speaker are hindering his chances.
Republicans fear that if they miss their mark, then voters will feel the GOP let them down.
“The fear is, that if we stumble out of the gate… [voters] will revolt over that and they will feel let down,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind) said of a possible McCarthy win.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey A. Jenkins, a professor at the University of Southern California said that concerns are mounting because Republicans fear he doesn’t have the stamina to lead the party.
“Does he want to go down as the first speaker candidate in 100 years to go to the floor and have to essentially, you know, give up?” Jenkins said, adding “but if he pulls this rabbit out of the hat, you know, maybe he has more of the right stuff.”