McCarthy acknowledges he’s short on votes for speaker, prepares for floor vote battle
Juliegrace Brufke
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House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) acknowledged that he did not have the 218 votes needed to get him the speaker’s gavel during a fiery closed-door conference meeting in which he sparred with his conservative defectors, who asserted that nothing has changed just ahead of the start of floor proceedings on Tuesday.
McCarthy gave a passionate speech insisting he deserves the position, which was met with a standing ovation from supporters but prompted Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) to yell “bulls***” in response.
One staunch McCarthy supporter, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, argued that those who vote against the California Republican should be tossed off committees. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) — who has called for a number of rules changes in order to support McCarthy for speaker, including assurances that conservative members would be placed on better committees — slammed the idea, according to two sources in the room.
MCCARTHY DEFIANT AHEAD OF SPEAKER VOTE: ‘I’VE EARNED THIS GODDAMN JOB’
One senior GOP source in the room said that McCarthy told Roy he appreciated his efforts to negotiate but “doesn’t know how to get to yes.” Roy responded by saying, “All you’re doing is guaranteeing that vote.”
McCarthy stated he knows he is short on the support needed on the first ballot while sparring with Roy, saying, “Oh yeah, 20 of you are against me, I know, I’ve heard it all,” the source said.
McCarthy later got into a heated exchange with House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA), who met with the California Republican on Monday evening, calling for additional rules changes. Among the demands, Perry asked that conservatives be placed on committees before the speaker vote.
“Kevin McCarthy asked Scott Perry directly what more he wants in the rules package or otherwise to get to yes. He had no answer. He refused to say. He was asked again. The whole conference began yelling at him to answer the question,” one lawmaker who is supporting McCarthy told the Washington Examiner. “He refused to answer. He’s gotten almost everything he asked for and just wants to terrorize the Republican Party at this point. Perry was at the mic complaining that they ‘had no conversations.’ Total lie. He looked very foolish in front of the conference.”
McCarthy argued that he gave critics the majority of the concessions they demanded, having agreed to bring the threshold for the motion to vacate the chair, a mechanism used to oust a sitting speaker, down to five.
Despite conservatives digging in their heels, McCarthy asserted that he is done with negotiating, calling for the conference to unify around him and saying that he has “earned this goddamn job.”
One senior GOP source said they believe McCarthy’s approach may have “drove HFC [House Freedom Caucus] away further.”
“Nothing has changed, we’re not going to vote for Kevin,” Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) told reporters after the meeting.
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McCarthy can lose just four votes on the floor unless his critics opt to vote present due to the narrow margins.
Five conservatives — former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Good — have vowed to vote against him, with others voicing opposition without further changes.
Multiple defectors said they plan to vote for Biggs, who launched a long-shot challenge against him on the first ballot, with others planning to vote for incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) on the second ballot.