Kevin McCarthy had just made what is probably the biggest concession to date to his opponents within the party on New Year’s Day. Then came the next setback: another nine right-wing Republicans openly spoke out against him as the new Speaker of the House. In a letter, McCarthy said, among other things, that in future five votes from the majority party should be enough for a vote of no confidence in the speaker.
However, the sword of Damocles over McCarthy’s head was not enough for the nine MPs – a “radical departure from the status quo” was necessary, they wrote a little later. After 14 years as party leader, McCarthy bears the responsibility for remedying the dysfunctionality of the House of Representatives. While progress has been made, McCarthy’s response to the demands comes “almost impossibly late.” It was less than two days until the 118th Congress was constituted this Tuesday and the First Chamber elected its speaker.
successor to Nancy Pelosi
McCarthy needs 218 of the 222 Republican votes in the House of Representatives to fulfill a long-cherished wish to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker. But until the last minute, a crucial number of right-wingers refused to support the man of the party establishment, despite the concessions the Californian had made since November’s congressional elections. He depends on the votes of Trump supporters and moderate Republicans. Although many of Donald Trump’s candidates failed in the congressional elections in November, the influence of the Trumpists in the House of Representatives has increased with the narrow Republican majority.
Overall, more than a dozen Republicans have now openly opposed McCarthy as speaker. Many are members of the so-called House Freedom Caucus, a group of right-wing conservative MPs in the House of Representatives. They call for a restructuring of the Republican leadership. The 57-year-old McCarthy was able to change some of his opponents by promising to place them on committees.
But even with the announced changes in the Rules of Procedure, he did not succeed in reducing his critics to a number that was not dangerous to him. McCarthy’s critics have not agreed on a specific opponent. In the party primary, McCarthy defeated right-wing MP Andy Biggs by 188 to 31.
McCarthy voted against impeachment of Trump
The previous minority leader, McCarthy, has long planned to secure the post of speaker one day. Since the storming of the Capitol, McCarthy has balanced himself between the moderates and the right-wing Republicans. On January 6, 2021, he called on Donald Trump to recall his mob, but then did not vote for Trump’s second impeachment — despite publicly blaming him for it. A little later he traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and allowed his supporters in the group to do so.
If McCarthy does not receive a majority this Tuesday, the ballot must be repeated until one candidate has the majority. The House of Representatives cannot function without a Speaker. Virginia Rep. Bob Good, one of McCarthy’s most vocal critics, said last week, “We need to elect a speaker who has a truly conservative political agenda.” to defeat a “system hostile to conservatives” within the Republicans. Good then said in an interview on Monday that he would definitely not vote for McCarthy. He expects 10 to 15 Republicans to do the same.
