Five House Republicans have thrown Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s chance to become speaker in jeopardy by publicly opposing his bid.
McCarthy (R-CA) needs every Republican vote he can pick up to become speaker. The position requires the support of 218 members of the House. With Republicans estimated to have a slim 222-seat majority, McCarthy can lose four votes from his party at most if he is to be elected speaker.
Currently, there are at least five GOP House reps who oppose his speakership. There are also others who remain undecided, Fox News reported.
Members vocally opposed to McCarty include Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
"House Republicans need a leader with credibility across every spectrum of the GOP conference in order to be a capable fighting force for the American people," Gaetz told Fox. "That person is not Kevin McCarthy."
Reps. Bob Good (R-VI) and Matt Rosendale (R-MT) have spoken against McCarthy's bid but may reportedly vote for him in exchange for concessions, including devolving some of the speaker’s power to committee members and rule changes on how legislation proceeds through the chamber.
McCarthy has agreed to some of their demands and will likely support their reforms for the movement of legislations through committees.