CNN
—
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is debating whether the far-right faction in his Congress will launch a long-shot challenge to complicate his bid and force concessions in the process. Moved to swiftly lock down votes claiming the gavel. GOP source.
McCarthy, who spoke privately with his closest advisers and confidantes in a Wednesday morning call just hours after his party was on track to take over the House, said their support for the massive Republican landslide was undeniable. Bullish expectations fell short. A California Republican named a group of members to his flogging team that would help secure 218 votes to win the presidency in January. A source with knowledge of the matter.
But whether McCarthy can easily ascend to the presidency will depend in large part on the size of the potential Republican majority. If McCarthy maintains a narrow majority, the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus could stifle his leadership ambitions. CNN has yet to predict a Republican takeover of the House.
A source familiar with the House Liberty Committee’s deliberations told CNN Wednesday morning that about 20 incumbents and incoming lawmakers were willing to vote against McCarthy if he did not offer concessions. said there is. They are actively debating putting a nominal challenger to face McCarthy in next week’s leadership election to force Republican leaders to have more influence over how the House runs. .
Next week’s leadership elections are just the first step in the process. McCarthy needs his 218 House-wide votes to win the gavel. If they endorse McCarthy’s challenger in next week’s election, California Republicans will be forced to strike a deal to secure their support in January’s presidency election, sources say. With a small Republican majority, we can afford to lose more than a handful of Republican votes.
Freedom Caucus’ strategy will be in clearer focus by the weekend when members weigh their options and incoming lawmakers come to Washington for their first meeting.
Among their demands was to allow individual lawmakers to more easily seek a vote to oust the incumbent chairman, an idea McCarthy has long rejected and is an Ohio Republican. It’s an idea swayed by former chairman John Boehner. The Freedom Caucus is seeking more representatives in the panel that selects the committee’s quota of members, according to the same sources. They are also asking Republican leaders to promise to slow down the legislative process and give them time to consider even uncontroversial bills.
McCarthy’s allies are touting that former President Donald Trump endorsed a speaker’s gavel in support of Trump at the House Republican meeting on Tuesday.・Even the most rebellious forces within the caucus have long been moving to take their place in good standing, and have spent weeks discussing their role in the Republican majority with some members of the group.
Additionally, McCarthy’s allies credit him with hundreds of millions of dollars that Republicans raised and spent in major elections by his outside groups. McCarthy has been calling the winning Republican candidates and members since Tuesday night.
McCarthy hoped to win at least 20 seats to give the speaker a cushion in the race and help push his agenda. , it is unclear if they can get there.
