These 6 Holdouts Are Blocking McCarthy From Becoming Speaker

Topline

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made monumental progress Friday in his bid to become house speaker, winning back 15 Republicans who opposed him in earlier rounds, but a small group of hardliners still have enough votes to block him from the speakership.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) sits next to Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) during the fourth day of … [+] elections for House speaker at the Capitol on January 6, 2023 in Washington. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.) all voted against McCarthy on the thirteenth ballot Friday afternoon, instead backing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who says he has no interest in becoming speaker.

A previous holdout, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), flipped on the thirteenth ballot, while 14 formerly anti-McCarthy voters switched support on the twelfth ballot.

Several of those switching votes said fruitful negotiations with McCarthy’s camp led them to change their minds—McCarthy made some major concessions to his opposition, including allowing for a “motion to vacate,” making it easier for House members to replace the speaker mid-term.

McCarthy can only afford to have four votes against him from Republicans, given the razor-thin majority the party holds in the House.

Peeling away more votes appears to be a difficult task and it’s unclear what concessions McCarthy could still make to convince the holdouts.

Gaetz in a speech nominating Jordan on Friday accused Republicans of backing McCarthy simply because of his fundraising abilities, calling him the “LeBron James of special interest fundraising,” while Good recently told Politico McCarthy “doesn’t have anything that I want.”

Crucial Quote

“Is this an exercise in vanity? For someone who has done the math, taken the counts and is putting this institution through something that absolutely is avoidable,” Gaetz said of McCarthy.

What To Watch For

McCarthy’s allies are planning meetings with the holdouts Friday afternoon before the House reconvenes at 10 p.m., according to CBS News.

Key Background

The vote changes Friday were a major momentum shift for McCarthy, who had not flipped any dissenting votes since the process began Tuesday. Picking a speaker is typically a rubber stamp act for the House but the new Congress’ protracted vote has now required more ballots than any speaker election since before the start of the Civil War. The handful of holdouts still wield a massive amount of influence in the voting process given the results of the midterms, which gave Republicans a 222-212 majority in the chamber, making just five dissenting GOP votes enough to throw off efforts by the rest of the party.

Surprising Fact

The House cannot conduct any business until a speaker is elected, meaning members cannot be sworn in, rules cannot be adopted and committees cannot form. With the speaker role vacant, Senate president pro tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is temporarily third in line to the presidency.