McCarthy Reportedly Moves Into Speaker’s Office Despite Apparently Lacking the Votes – May Have to Move Out
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) seems to be confident he will be the speaker in the next Congress — even as it appears he lacks the necessary votes. On Monday, journalist Jamie Dupree tweeted, “In the…
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) seems to be confident he will be the speaker in the next Congress — even as it appears he lacks the necessary votes.
On Monday, journalist Jamie Dupree tweeted, “In the Capitol right now, some reporters are waiting outside the Speaker’s offices. Pelosi has moved out, and McCarthy has moved in. But he’s still short on votes.”
And Haley Talbot, a Capitol Hill producer for NBC News, shared a video of crates being wheeled into the speaker’s office suite.
“GOP Leader McCarthy has moved into the speaker’s suite but if he fails to secure 218 he will have to move all his stuff back out,” she wrote.
The House is slated to vote to decide who will be the next speaker on Tuesday. McCarthy would need 218 votes if the whole chamber voted.
However, it appears he is currently struggling to win the support required.
He can only afford to lose four votes, and five House Republicans have publicly stated they oppose his bid for speaker.
Politico reported on Sunday, McCarthy “announced on a private conference call that he would give his antagonists one of their top demands: The threshold to trigger a vote ousting a speaker would shrink from half the GOP conference, as had been agreed to by a majority of the members, to five dissatisfied lawmakers.”