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REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY: The GOP is eating their own as vote for Speaker commences

REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY: The GOP is eating their own as vote for Speaker commences

Today is the day Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been waiting for – or maybe not. The thirsty GOP House leader has been dreaming for years of becoming Speaker of the House, but at least five votes stand in his way.

Along the way, McCarthy has sold his soul, and now the bill has come due.

“Last night I was presented the only way to have 218 votes, if I provided certain members with certain positions, certain gavels to take over certain committees to have certain budgets. And they even came to the position where one Matt Gaetz said, ‘I don’t care if we go to plurality, and we elect Hakeem Jeffries and it hurts the new front line members not to get reelected,'” McCarthy said this morning.

Ouch, that’s got to hurt.

In a heated meeting prior to Tuesday’s vote, Rep. McCarthy stood his ground and displayed his sense of entitlement to the Speakership.

“I earned this job. We earned this majority and God dammit we are going to win it today,” the former House Minority Leader said to a supportive crowd, POLITICO reported.

The Freedom Caucus has been vocal in its opposition to McCarthy, but apparently, the number of GOP reps. willing to vote against the Republican leader has swelled.

In his speech on Monday evening, the wannabe-Speaker admitted that at least 20 GOP House members are poised to vote against his election to the chamber’s top spot.

“Kevin McCarthy had an opportunity to be Speaker of the House,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) said. “He rejected it.”

But McCarthy has his supporters.

Despite a letter signed by nine House Republicans declaring their fervent opposition to his taking the senior position in the chamber, McCarthy is remaining steadfast in his leadership bid.

“I still think that, at the end of the day, Kevin gets it,” Rep Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) said. “The people that [stand] to lose are the hardliners that have negotiated in bad faith.

Tell us something we don’t know.

The vote for Speaker of the House will take place today, and the expected chaos will come with it. McCarthy doesn’t have the votes, but like Trump’s election – anything is possible.

Original reporting by Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney at POLITICO

Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick

Ty Ross
News journalist for Occupy Democrats.

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