House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA.) chances of becoming the House Speaker could be thwarted, as several holdouts within the GOP have been confirmed.
Despite the opposition of members of the Freedom Caucus, McCarthy won his party’s nomination for Speaker. However, that win remains in peril because of the opposition of three Republicans who’ve confirmed they wouldn’t vote for McCarthy to be Speaker when the new Congress commences in January.
Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Andy Biggs (R-AZ.), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) are the three lawmakers who’ve confirmed they’ll be voting “no” when the vote for the Speaker’s gavel is held on the Senate floor.
Their no votes are what will spell trouble for McCarthy, as Republicans have only won 220 seats, giving McCarthy little room for no votes when he needs 218 to become Speaker.
Gaetz was one of the first to reveal he would be voting no for McCarthy on January 3.
He revealed his intention not to vote for McCarthy on Monday (November 14).
Biggs revealed he would continue to oppose McCarthy in an opinion piece for American Greatness, published on Thursday (November 17), where he acknowledged he didn’t believe McCarthy has the 218 votes.
On Monday (November 21), Norman added his name to the mix, confirming in a “Just The News” interview that McCarthy wouldn’t have his support due to McCarthy being complacent with “runaway federal spending.”
McCarthy could face opposition from another GOP lawmaker. Last week, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) revealed his views on McCarthy, noting that the California Republican “wants to maintain the status quo.”
Rosendale also articulated through his tweet that a leader who would stand up to President Joe Biden was necessary, revealing he didn’t believe that to be McCarthy.
