Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said on Tuesday he would challenge House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for speaker on the floor of the House in January.
Biggs, who has served three terms in Congress, had previously challenged McCarthy in the vote to determine the Republican candidate for speaker. He was soundly defeated 188 to 31.
He wrote in an op-ed in the Daily Caller on Tuesday that he was opposed to McCarthy becoming the next speaker.
“We cannot let this all too rare opportunity to effectuate structural change pass us by because it is uncomfortable to challenge the Republican candidate who is a creature of the establishment status quo, or because the challenge is accompanied by some minimal risk," Biggs wrote.
Biggs and four other GOP reps. have voiced opposition to McCarthy since he won the vote and announced they would not support his candidacy.
McCarthy needs every Republican vote he can pick up to become speaker. The position requires the support of 218 members of the House. With Republicans having a slim 221-seat majority, McCarthy can lose three 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.
Biggs' winning on the House floor is not seen as likely but would force another candidate to step forward if McCarthy could not gain enough votes to secure the position.
"There is no viable alternative to Kevin McCarthy. He has led us to the majority," Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) told the news outlet. "He has led from the legitimate center of our party, respecting people to his left and to his right. And that's the definition of what we want in a speaker."