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BATTLE OF WILLS: Kevin McCarthy & opponents all refuse to back down after two failed attempts to elect a Speaker

BATTLE OF WILLS: Kevin McCarthy & opponents all refuse to back down after two failed attempts to elect a Speaker

BATTLE OF WILLS: Kevin McCarthy & opponents all refuse to back down after two failed attempts to elect a Speaker

Kevin McCarthy has not been elected Speaker of the House, but he doesn’t plan to back down — and neither do the Republicans who firmly oppose him for the position. By the third round of voting, little had changed, and nobody seems to have any intention of backing down.

A handful of Republicans — Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, Bob Good, and Andy Biggs among them — have declared that they have no intention of supporting McCarthy for Speaker.

They’ve rallied others to their cause, and with the slim conservative majority in the House and Democrats united behind a progressive candidate, it takes only 5 GOP members rejecting McCarthy (or any other candidate) to prevent him from becoming Speaker, something that has already happened during the third vote, which is in progress as this article is being written.

In fact, both factions — the pro-McCarthy and the anti-McCarthy — say they’re not reversing course, and that they’ll sit through as many votes as it takes.

McCarthy has indicated it’s his plan to ‘wear down’ the opposition and wait them out, while his opponents say he should recognize he’s been rejected and withdraw.

Andy Biggs — who was one of the nominees in the first round of voting — tweeted a demand to that effect, saying, “McCarthy has lost two ballots already. It’s time to move on.”

McCarthy, who has already moved his property into the Speaker’s office, isn’t hearing it.

According to CNN, McCarthy tried to rally support during a meeting before the first vote, saying that he wants to fight for the American people, but that “a few Members” were determined to, instead, fight for “their own personal grievances.”

He reportedly raised his voice in the meeting, declaring, “I have earned this job,” to which Boebert is reported to have called back, “Bullsh*t!”

Even as the second round of voting failed to result in a successful election of a Speaker, McCarthy insisted to a CBS correspondent that his party is united and that the Members “holding out” are just focused on their personal wants.

His opponents are standing equally firm, as CNN‘s Manu Raju reports.

Many of them are sharing their thoughts with constituents directly. Chip Roy, of Texas, who nominated Jim Jordan (R-OH) as the third round of voting opened, tweeted suggesting that McCarthy is part of “the swamp,” and that new leadership is necessary.

Bob Good (R-VA) also tweeted, saying that the country “deserve[s] better” than McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) argued that it’s urgent to settle this and have a Speaker because new Members can’t be sworn in and investigations into President Joe Biden, his son, and all the other entities on whom the GOP hopes to exact vengeance, can’t begin until a Speaker is elected.

Greene has been on the outs with her usual cohorts — Gaetz, Boebert, and the other MAGAs — for weeks over her support of McCarthy.

It remains to be seen who will cave eventually.

However, there’s another possibility. If enough Members end up leaving chambers after hours and hours of voting, the threshold for a successful vote drops and McCarthy could find himself with enough supporters to squeak by.

Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.

Stephanie Bazzle
Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here:

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