Thursday, October 31

McCarthy needs 218 votes to become Speaker of the House of Representatives

El republicano en problemas por la votación de enero.
The Republican in trouble for the January vote.

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Kevin McCarthy received the support of his colleagues in an internal election for become the speaker of the House of Representatives, the vote to achieve his goal will be held on January 3. Despite the fact that the minority leader seeks 80 votes and achieve his objective , there is a group of Republicans who have already confessed that they will not vote for him and others who do not agree with his policies, which would put his candidacy at risk.

The Republican he needs the support of the Republicans, whose number scores the majority in the House, to reach his goal of becoming the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

There is a rule, a Speaker can be elected with fewer votes than the required number if there are absences or vacancies , but McCarthy faces another problem, not all Republicans are in favor of his having that position.

2021

So far, Republicans occupy 800 seats thanks to the midterm elections. For their part, the Democrats will have about 80, but they will vote for a Democratic candidate.

McCarthy has sought this position since 1200, which is why he now maintains the confidence that he will win the presidency. But there is a group of Republicans who have already confessed that they will not support his candidacy , in addition to others who have declared that the minority leader has not earned his endorsement. With all that, the 222 votes he needs are not enough.

Those who have opposed Kevin McCarthy being the new Speaker, is the Arizona representative, Andy Biggs , former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, challenged McCarthy for the Republican nomination for House Speaker at the last minute. Biggs will not be voting for him for president.

Matt Gaetz of Florida is not comfortable with the idea of ​​McCarthy becoming president, he has been outspoken that he would prefer that seat be filled by a MAGA Republican, as he would have more confidence. Gaetz will not vote for McCarthy either.

Those who also join in denying him the vote are: Bob Good, Virginia representative, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, the representative of Montana, Matt Rosendale. The current president of the House Freedom Caucus, Scott Perry, and Chip Roy of Texas.

Some legislators are still hesitant to endorse him because they believe he has done nothing to earn their trust, including the representative of North Carolina, Dan Bishop, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Barry Moore

from Alabama. In contrast, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once doubted McCarthy’s ability to become Speaker of the House, now is one of its biggest defenders.

“We have to like Kevin McCarthy”, Greene told journalists. “I cannot support a challenge that allows Democrats to choose their own speaker by removing some of ours.”

Kevin McCarthy has done a series of statements regarding the investigations that the Republican Party will carry out when I took over the House, such as the resignation of the head of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

During a trip to El Paso, Texas, he also stated that he will carry out investigations of the management of the border with Mexico undertaken by President Joe Biden, and which they have described as a “border crisis”. According to a report he shared, since the president took office in 2021, four million people have entered the United States illegally.

It is important to emphasize that in addition to their own colleagues, the Democrats also disagree with the choice of the Republican.

Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, whom Kevin McCarthy wants to oust, shared that the Lower House “It will be chaos” when the minority leader is the president, assuring that he is very weak and will be managed by Republican followers of Trump.