House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy hopes to pass a crucial test Tuesday in his campaign to become speaker of the House, despite an underwhelming midterm election performance that has set off a search among conservatives for a challenger.   

  A week after Election Day, CNN has yet to predict whether Republicans will win the House.  But McCarthy is confident he will win a majority of the House GOP vote Tuesday to lead his caucus — and win in January the 218 votes needed to hold the speaker’s gavel.   

  He will face at least one challenger: Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, former chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.  Biggs announced on Newsmax Monday night that he will run against McCarthy, while acknowledging that it would be “tough” to beat someone who “raised a lot of money” to elect his colleagues.   

  “It’s not just about Kevin,” Biggs said.  “I think it’s about institutional direction and trajectory.”   

  Before Biggs’ announcement, McCarthy and Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, who is running for majority leader, tried to defuse tensions roiling within the party on Monday.  McCarthy met with several members of the House Freedom Caucus on Monday, and Scalise apologized in a meeting to Florida Rep. Matt Gage for privately criticizing him shortly after Jan. 6, 2021, according to sources in the chamber. .   

  Idaho GOP Rep. Mike Simpson said he would support McCarthy for leader, noting that the GOP has gained House seats in the last two elections.  “He’s done a good job,” Simpson said.   

  “There were factors beyond what Kevin McCarthy could deal with that affected this election,” he added.   

  Some members of the extreme right appeared reassuring.   

  “If we don’t unite behind Kevin McCarthy, we’re opening the door for Democrats to be able to recruit some of our Republicans,” said Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.   

  Even before Biggs stepped into the ring, House members predicted McCarthy would face a challenger that would reveal the California Republican currently does not have enough support to become speaker next year.   

  During a closed-door leadership candidate forum Monday, Virginia Rep. Bob Goode, a McCarthy critic, complained that a McCarthy-aligned Super PAC opposed some pro-Trump candidates and criticized McCarthy for not calling to congratulates him on winning his primary.  , according to a source in the room.  McCarthy responded that he directed $2 million to Good for his fight.  Good had to surrender to be cut off from speaking so they could move on to the next question, the source said.   

  At the private party meeting, McCarthy received a standing ovation from his colleagues.  McCarthy has vowed to take power away from Democrats, saying that if elected he would remove Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and California Reps. Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee. , according to a source in the room.  And he emphasized his role in returning Republicans to power.   

  “They don’t give a hammer to small, medium and large – we have the majority and we have the hammers,” McCarthy told the meeting.   

  At one point, Gaetz asked McCarthy if he would try to solicit or accept speaker votes from any Democrats.  McCarthy told him “no.”   

  But McCarthy’s allies have recently tried to persuade moderate Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar to switch parties in hopes of closing their narrow margins, according to two sources familiar with the discussion.  Cuellar flatly rejected the idea.  (McCarthy’s spokesman said the GOP leader was not involved if those talks were taking place and said it was in no way part of their strategy for the majority or his presidential bid.)   

  Gaetz, Good and Texas Rep. Chip Roy said Monday that McCarthy doesn’t have the votes he needs to become speaker.   

  “What I can tell you as I stand here right now is that Kevin McCarthy does not have 218 votes to be speaker,” Gaetz said.  “I don’t think he has 200.”   

  Still, McCarthy and Scalise appear to be in control of their leadership races, while the House GOP’s No. 3 seat remains up for grabs, which would be the role of House majority whip if Republicans win the control of Parliament.   

  In the private forum, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, was pressured to vote in favor of a bill to codify same-sex marriage earlier this year, according to a source in the chamber.  His response: “These divisive social issues should not be brought to the floor of Parliament.”   

  Emer also defended his party’s poor mid-term performance by claiming they provided a majority.   

  Emmer is running against Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and Drew Ferguson of Georgia, the chief deputy whip, for the post.