House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is confident Tuesday that he will be elected as the new candidate for House Speaker against the choice of Andy Biggs, from the far-right faction of the party, as the results of the midterm elections seem to confirm that the Democrats will lose power in the House.
While the Republicans are expected to regain control of the House despite the fact that the midterm results were not as expected, the real test for McCarthy will be to get the majority vote in January to preside over it, which means that he could give in to the claims of disgruntled Republicans.
He will face at least Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, former chairman of the most conservative bloc of House Republicans, who has acknowledged that it will be «tough» to beat someone who «raised a lot of money» to convince his colleagues.
«This is not just about Kevin. I think it’s about the leadership and the institutional track record,» Biggs said after McCarthy met with party colleagues from this same bloc — the Freedom Caucus — CNN reports.
«If we don’t unify behind Kevin McCarthy, we’re opening the door for the Democrats to recruit some of our Republicans,» said Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the representatives of that hard-line, conservative wing of the party, close to Donald Trump.
McCarthy would be joined by Steve Scalise as the new Republican majority leader in the House, which would leave vacant the number 3 position, the one in charge of party discipline, which could go to the representative for Minnesota Tom Emmer, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
After it is known whether McCarthy will be chosen by the Republicans to preside over the House, former President Trump is expected to announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, amid criticism among Republicans who hold him responsible for the poor results of these legislative elections.
