OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is facing serious blowback after Republicans, to an extent, underperformed in the midterm elections.
Assuming Republicans win control of the U.S. House, McCarthy is pushing to become the speaker of the House once the 2022 midterm elections are finalized — which means Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi would hand over the gavel.
However, McCarthy is facing extreme headwinds from Republicans who are not guaranteeing him anything as the final outcomes of many House races were still pending on Friday morning. s far as the speakership goes, not everyone shares McCarthy’s opinion that he should get the gavel.
A scathing report from Politico Playbook detailed how McCarthy is struggling to gain enough support to become voted as the speaker.
Politico reported:
McCARTHY’S LAST HURDLE — When JOHN BOEHNER suddenly retired in 2015, members of the House Freedom Caucus showed up at speaker-in-waiting KEVIN McCARTHY’s office with a list of demands: In exchange for their support, they wanted McCarthy to name one of their own to a senior leadership position and embrace rules changes that empowered conservatives.
If he refused, they told him, they would band together to block him from securing the needed 218 votes to be speaker. But McCarthy was unwilling to subjugate his power in order to appease a splinter faction, and ultimately, the California Republican dropped his bid for his dream job, paving the way for PAUL RYAN’s rise.
Since then, McCarthy has cannily maneuvered to ensure he never finds himself in a similar predicament. He’s befriended many of the conservatives he once scorned, made an ally out of his previous archrival, Freedom Caucus founder JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio), and become a close confidant of DONALD TRUMP. Yet seven years later, McCarthy once again finds his dream held hostage by the same group of hardliners. Thanks to the GOP’s lackluster midterm performance, he is seeking to preside over what appears likely to be an extremely thin majority — a scenario that hands massive leverage to the far right.
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Scott Perry told Politico that they sent a list of demands to McCarthy but that he has not responded yet.
“We know there are a number of members who feel as we do, that Kevin McCarthy has not earned the right to lead, has not earned our vote. The rules of the game should be known before we select a captain,” Perry said. “We don’t know what the majority is or who is in the majority. … It seems appropriate that we have a family conversation prior to voting.”
“If he bends the knee on the motion to vacate, the speakership is screwed,” one former House leadership staffer who was close with McCarthy told Playbook. “What the fuck is the point in being speaker if they put it back? They own you. They’ll wield that anytime they want to push you around. … And if that’s the price, it’s not worth it.”
Another senior Republican aide told Politico that they were rooting for McCarthy but that he doesn’t have a choice moving forward after spending seven years demonstrating to fellow Republicans he would do anything to win the gavel: ”It’s just like, ‘Suck up and do it, man. What do you have to lose?’”
As Politico noted: “The Freedom Caucus also has divisions in its ranks that have grown more visible in recent months, schisms that may make it harder for members to stand united against GOP leadership as they make their demands.”
“Jordan has switched teams. While he’s still in the Freedom Caucus, Jordan is backing McCarthy for speaker this time. On the conservative radio program “The Dana Show” on Wednesday, he endorsed McCarthy’s rise to the top despite the Election Day disappointments: ‘The guy that gets you to the Super Bowl — even if you have to go into overtime in the championship game to get there — should get to coach the game,'” the outlet added.
