House GOP Choose Kevin McCarthy As Speaker, Some Republicans Push Back

Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives have once again chosen Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House, nominating the California congressman on Tuesday over his challenger, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

McCarthy will become the 53rd Speaker of the House as long as the GOP leader can convince those who voted against him to support him by the time the official vote takes place in early January. The California congressman received 188 votes, while Biggs — who is a former chairman of the Freedom Caucus — received 31 votes.

There was reportedly lots of cheering in support of McCarthy following the vote.

Alongside other House Republicans, McCarthy campaigned to take back the majority in Congress using the Commitment to America agenda — which was a legislative agenda designed to alleviate numerous crises unfolding under the leadership of President Joe Biden, as well as a plan to increase oversight over the administration.

Many conservative House lawmakers, including members of the Freedom Caucus, have demanded rule changes as a condition for supporting McCarthy for Speaker of the House.

Breitbart News reported that these rules would include enacting “a ‘majority of the majority’ rule that would ensure that House Republicans should only put a bill on the floor if it is supported by a majority of House Republicans.”

Another rule would be to “diversify the Steering Committee so that all House Republicans can have input on committee assignments,” according to the outlet.

McCarthy has already spoken about his plans for legislative action after Republicans take back the House, revealing that the GOP would pass a bill to repeal the portion of the Inflation Reduction Act which hires an additional 87,000 IRS agents. The California congressman also stated that he would eliminate the practice of proxy voting.

Those who opposed McCarthy’s leadership noted that the vote on Tuesday did not secure his position as speaker, and was only a nomination for the position, not the official vote.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is openly calling out McCarthy, saying that he cannot be trusted in the key leadership position.

In a tweet, the Florida Republican listed several concerning issues with McCarthy’s previous actions that he believes make him unfit to lead the GOP in the House.

Gaetz cited McCarthy’s defense of disgraced Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who recently lost her primary to America-First candidate Harriet Hageman by roughly 37 points, and the fact that McCarthy “told GOP leadership Trump should resign” after the January 6 Capitol riot.

“Kevin is FLIGHT over FIGHT when the chips are down[.] He is not a Speaker for these times,” Gaetz added.

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