GOP rep says there are 20 firm ‘no’ votes against McCarthy as Speaker

The Hill ^ | 11/29/2022 | Jared Gans

[ChicagoConservative27]

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said 20 members of the House Republican Conference are “pretty hard no” votes against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) becoming Speaker next session.

Biggs said in an interview on the podcast Conservative Review with Daniel Horowitz that those who plan to not vote for McCarthy are not all from the House Freedom Caucus, the most conservative group in the body.

Biggs, a former chair of the Freedom Caucus, ran against McCarthy to be the GOP’s nominee for the speakership earlier this month. McCarthy won the vote, 188 to 31, with five representatives voting for neither.

But McCarthy needs to win 218 votes on Jan. 3, the first day of the next session of Congress, to become Speaker, and Republicans are set to hold only a narrow majority, meaning he cannot afford to lose many votes.

[Jim Noble]

If McCarthy doesn’t get does a democrat?

Whoever gets 218 votes first is Speaker.

If McCarthy fails, and the Democrats are only 4 votes short of 218, then, yes, your next Speaker will probably be Nancy Pelosi or Hakeem Jeffries.

[Ingtar]

Not really. The RINO party has probably lined up enough Democrat votes to take care of it.

[SaxxonWoods]

“Someone explain to me how that makes things better.”

You’d have to replace about a hundred RINOs to “make things better”.

[No Party Affiliation]

In the words of HRC, at this point what difference does it make?

[lee martell]

The NO votes are increasing.

[zeugma]

You'll note that not a single democrat is 'at risk' of its vote. The only people who have to vote for the 'lesser of 2 evils' are republicans.

[OrioleFan]

RINOs have been trusting Democraps for years. It’s like Lucy and the football when Charley Brown tries to kick it.

[Vaduz]

If so the democrats still have a shot of stonewalling congress a Pelosi lives event.

#*!Z#.............

[glennaro]

Alternatively, if the Democrat/Communist bloc has an opportunity to re-elect Pelosi as Speaker if they remain solid, they may do just that.

[Kaiser8408a]

What is the alternative? I would love Jim Jordan from Ohio, but McCarthy would rather lose and have the gavel back to Nancy Pelosi. LOSERS ALL!!!

[1Old Pro]

This should be easy, cut a deal with the Freedom caucus and govern like a conservative.

[hanamizu]

You’d have to replace about a hundred RINOs to “make things better”.

---

That will take time. For right now, the best we can hope for is stop letting things get worse. Maybe a committee with subpoena power to investigate Hunter & The Big Guy’s business dealings.

But things aren’t going to get a lot better for a while.

[CraigEsq]

If, hypothetically, Pelosi or another Democrat was elected speaker, who would assign committees? Would the Republicans still be the majority on committees?

[ifinnegan]

I’ve thought that also.

It’d be funny.

[Wuli]

McCarthy is right. If the FreedomCaucus and their friends put opposing McCarthy above anything else, and as a result no GOP gets a majority, and eventually the vote is lost to a Dim, it will be on the heads of the FreedomCaucus and their friends if a Dim becomes speaker, in spite of a GOP majority.

McCarthy should hold an internal GOP vote before, with all GOP members required attendance and based on that vote ask for recommendations of how to keep the speaker’s office in GOP hands. Some are going to have to compromise and that should be agreed on internally before the formal House vote for speaker. If the Freedom caucus and their friends don’t go along, the result will be on their heads.

[1Old Pro]

McCarthy should hold an internal GOP vote before, with all GOP members required attendance and based on that vote ask for recommendations of how to keep the speaker’s office in GOP hands. Some are going to have to compromise

Including McCarthy, who needs to be pulled to the right.

[Plumberman27]

I agree! I feel that after what Trump has been put thru he has earned that spot. He also has the right to savage every democrat he can all the time. Republicans are soft and there is no need to work with Joe Biden ever. He deserves to be worked against at all times and setting trump in as speaker ends any more bullshit Just to see the liberal heads explode it would be worth it.

[wita]

Sounds to me like you are one of the few who understands the stakes, and see McCarthy for who he really is.

It truly is up to McCarthy. If he had the stones to agree to the much needed rules changes that will help the Congress return to sanity, We the People might have a shot at seeing some of the desired changes, but, if he is the type you and I suspect, nothing will change and we could indeed end up with a democrat speaker.

He was involved in a press conference this morning and was just full of words Republicans love to hear. I didn’t believe a word.

[wita]

If the FreedomCaucus and their friends put opposing McCarthy above anything else, and as a result no GOP gets a majority, and eventually the vote is lost to a Dim, it will be on the heads of the FreedomCaucus and their friends if a Dim becomes speaker, in spite of a GOP majority.

McCarthy is the one holding all the cards. He will decide what takes place and no one else. His decision alone. Anything else is pure BS.

[Jim Noble]

You’d have to replace about a hundred RINOs to “make things better”

150-170.

"Taking over the GOP" is impossible, and were it done, what was left wouldn't be worth having.