House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is moving quickly to lock down votes to claim the speaker’s gavel, as a far-right faction of his caucus debates whether to mount a major challenge to complicate his bid and force concessions in the process, according to multiple GOP Sources.
McCarthy spoke privately with his closest advisers and confidantes in a phone call Wednesday morning, hours after his party appeared on track to take the House but fell short of their soaring expectations of a massive GOP landslide. The California Republican has asked a group of members to be on the whip team that will help him secure the 218 votes to win the speakership in January, with GOP lawmakers on the call promising to “work hard to get him elected “, according to a source familiar with the matter.
But McCarthy’s easy ascent to the speakership will be largely determined by the size of a potential GOP majority. If McCarthy maintains a narrow majority, then the pro-Trump Freedom Caucus could stand in the way of his leadership ambitions. CNN has yet to predict a Republican takeover of the chamber.
A source familiar with the House Freedom Caucus’s deliberations told CNN Wednesday morning that there are about two dozen current and incoming members who are willing to vote against McCarthy if he doesn’t offer them concessions. They are actively discussing fielding a nominal challenger to face McCarthy in next week’s leadership election in an effort to force the GOP leader to give them more influence over how the House is run, the source said.
McCarthy sent a letter to the conference Wednesday afternoon formally declaring his candidacy for the speech and asking members for their support, according to a copy obtained by CNN.
Next week’s leadership election is just the first step in the process. McCarthy will need to win a majority of his congressional support next week to be named speaker before a January vote, when he would need 218 votes of the full House to win the gavel. The hope, the source said, is that if they endorse a challenger to McCarthy in next week’s election, it will force the California Republican to cut a deal to secure their support in the January speaker race, when they could not have the luxury of losing more than a handful of GOP votes to a narrow Republican majority.
The Freedom Caucus’ strategy will come into greater focus later in the week as members weigh their options and as incoming lawmakers come to Washington for first meetings.
Among their demands: Allowing individual members to request a vote to oust a sitting speaker, an idea McCarthy has long rejected and an idea championed by former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. The same source said the Freedom Caucus wants more representation on the panel that makes choices in membership committee work. They are also calling on GOP leaders to commit to slowing the legislative process and giving them more time to reconsider even non-controversial bills.
McCarthy’s allies are touting former President Donald Trump’s endorsement Tuesday for the speaker’s gavel, which could help with Trump’s staunch supporters at the House GOP conference. Additionally, McCarthy has long moved to develop a good standing with even the most insurgent forces within the Freedom Caucus and has been talking with some members of the group about their role in the GOP majority for weeks, according to Republican sources. .
In addition, McCarthy’s allies believe Republicans will credit him for the hundreds of millions of dollars his outside group has raised and spent in key races. McCarthy has been calling winning candidates and GOP members since Tuesday night.
McCarthy had hoped to pick up at least 20 seats to give him a cushion in both the speaker’s race and help advance his agenda. It’s unclear if they can get there, as many races remain too early for CNN to call.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
