As Republicans make plans for taking control of the House of Representatives in January, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are warning that Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who won the GOP’s nomination for Speaker of the House last week, may not actually have enough votes to earn him the Speaker’s gavel.
Just because he won the Republican nomination doesn’t mean Kevin McCarthy automatically becomes Speaker; he essentially needs the backing of every GOP House member when the entire chamber votes early next year. Here are the numbers:
- 219: The projected number of seats that Republicans will hold in the new Congress.
- 218: The number of votes a candidate needs to become Speaker of the House.
- 188: The number of votes Kevin McCarthy received to earn the GOP nomination to become Speaker of the House.
- 31: The number of Republicans that did not vote for Kevin McCarthy to be their nominee for Speaker of the House.
- 30: The number of Republican (or Democrat!) votes Kevin McCarthy needs to earn by January 3, 2023, in order to become the next Speaker of the House.
Freedom Caucus member Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has been one of the most vocal opponents of McCarthy’s ascending to the speakership. He appeared on Dana Loesch’s radio show today and confirmed that McCarthy is short of the votes he needs, tweeting: