Fox News reports that three House Republicans just declared that they will oppose House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) bid to become the next House speaker.
Those three House Republicans are Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Matt Gaetz, (R-FL), and Matt Rosendale, (R-MT).
All three have made public statements opposing a McCarthy speakership.
Time for change
Biggs released the most detailed public statement of the three, which he did with an op-ed that was published by American Greatness. There, he explained why he will not vote for McCarthy for House speaker.
Biggs writes:
Not only did my constituents want the “red wave” that didn’t ever materialize, but they also want new leadership. They told me that they want a leader who will take on the Biden Administration, a leader that will not acquiesce in the abrogation of our rights. They want someone who will use every tool, every procedure, and all of the processes available to fight against the radical Left that they know has taken over our government.
Biggs went on to demonstrate that McCarthy hasn’t been and isn’t going to be that guy. And so, Biggs concluded, “in the end, I must concur with my constituents: it is time to make a change at the top of the House of Representatives. I cannot vote for the gentleman from California, Mr. McCarthy.”
Gaetz then tweeted his support of Biggs’s position, writing, “Kevin McCarthy (Establishment-CA) is now reduced to threatening and pressuring incoming freshmen House members to vote for him. We have the votes to force a change.”
Rosendale, on the other hand, wrote his own message in which he said that he opposes McCarthy because McCarthy “wants to maintain the status quo, which consolidates power into his hands and a small group of individuals he personally selects.”
What now?
McCarthy has already won the GOP nomination for the House speakership. To become speaker of the House though, McCarthy needs a majority of votes – 218 – from the House as a whole.
As things currently stand, if the above three Republicans oppose McCarthy and if McCarthy receives no support from Democrats, then McCarthy will not become the next House Speaker.
It ought to be noted that with the GOP vote, McCarthy fell some 30 votes short of this 218 number.
Whether this all means that McCarthy will not become the next House speaker, though, is another matter altogether. There are a lot of factors at play, and, accordingly, there are a lot of possibilities.