Kevin McCarthy Fends Off Challenge For House Speaker Nomination—But Still Doesn’t Have The Votes To Win

Topline

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was nominated to be the next speaker of the House on Tuesday, fending off a challenge from Freedom Caucus-backed Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), but falling short of the votes needed to win the speakership once the new Congress takes office in January.

Key Facts

House Republicans selected McCarthy, in a 188-31 vote cast by secret ballot on Tuesday, as their nominee for speaker to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the likely scenario the GOP wins the House majority once all midterm races are called.

House rules require only a simple majority to win the nomination, but McCarthy must secure 218 votes, half of the chamber, to win the speakership in January.

As of Tuesday, Republicans are on track to hold at least 221 seats in the House during the next session, meaning McCarthy would need nearly all of the votes of his party, or some votes from Democrats, in order to win.

Biggs announced a last-minute challenge to McCarthy on Monday, and he was formally nominated by Reps. Chip Roy (R-Tx.) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) at the closed-door election.

What To Watch For

McCarthy’s path to securing the 218 votes needed to win the gavel is dependent on the number of seats Republicans hold in the House next year. As of Tuesday afternoon, they were one win away from clinching the 218 seats needed for the majority, with 12 races that had yet to be called, and Republican candidates leading in four of them. The Freedom Caucus is expected to use the slim majority to negotiate demands in exchange for votes. Among them is the power to overthrow the speaker, a concession McCarthy has said he opposes and a mechanism that would strengthen the Freedom Caucus’ negotiating power with McCarthy. But not all Freedom Caucus members are against McCarthy–namely Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who said Monday it was a “bad strategy” to oppose McCarthy. McCarthy has embraced Greene and is expected to reappoint her to committees, possibly the powerful House Oversight Committee. She was removed from all committee assignments last year following incendiary rhetoric, including racist and anti-semitic remarks and promoting QAnon conspiracies.

Tangent

Some Republicans–including Norman and a group of more than 50 leaders of conservative groups and former Congress members–sought to delay the leadership elections amid the fallout from the party’s worse-than-expected midterm performance. GOP senators, including Lindsey Graham (S.C.), have also called for a delay in the upper chamber’s leadership elections scheduled for tomorrow until after the Georgia Senate runoff election on December 6 between Republican Herschel Walker and incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D).

Further Reading

​​GOP Midterm Fallout: Calls Grow For Party To Delay Leadership Elections After Lackluster Performance (Forbes)