House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is angling for the House to adjourn on Day Two as he struggles to get the votes needed to lock down the speaker’s gavel after coming up short on three ballots Tuesday, two senior GOP sources said.
The House passed by voice vote a motion for the House to break until noon after the number of McCarthy defections grew by one, with a total of 20 GOP lawmakers voting against him.
Both Democrats and conservatives told the Washington Examiner that they are not supportive of the move, with one GOP detractor replying “Nah” when asked if the group would vote in favor of the motion.
Other members have voiced frustrations that the full GOP conference has not met since a fiery conference meeting took place on Tuesday morning ahead of the vote, in which McCarthy sparred with members of the House Freedom Caucus over their decision to withhold their support unless he provided further concessions to the demands for rules changes. Others have said he will never have their support due to overarching trust issues.
“WE WANT A CONFERENCE MEETING!!!!” one GOP member messaged the Washington Examiner.
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Two defectors told the Washington Examiner that they expected the number of members voting against McCarthy “to grow” as ballots continue.
Despite McCarthy’s path remaining unclear, his supporters have insisted they will stand by him until the last ballot, and former President Donald Trump, after some speculation he might pull his endorsement for the California Republican, is standing by his congressional ally.
