House Republicans fear they don't have enough votes to confirm a new speaker: 'No one is close'

11 October 2023

Over a week after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was ousted as speaker, House Republicans continued to debate who his replacement should be.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) were among the top contenders. But McCarthy, following Hamas' terrorist assault on Israel, said he wouldn't rule out running for speaker again.

According to Axios' Juliegrace Brufke, Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida is among the House Republicans who doubts that either Scalise or Jordan can get to the 217 votes needed to be confirmed as speaker.

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Brufke, in an article published on October 11, reports, "Multiple members emerged from the House GOP's speaker forum on Tuesday saying they don't see either candidate being any closer to having the votes needed to secure the gavel on the floor…. Some members emerged saying they weren't fully satisfied with the answers provided by the candidates on certain issues, with one member projecting Wednesday's vote to be a 'clusterf***.'"

Cammack told Axios, "No one is close to 217."

A long-time House member, interviewed on condition of anonymity, expressed frustration with "far-right" Republicans who oppose any time of bipartisan deals with Democrats.

That lawmaker told Axios, "The thing that drives me nuts the most is we all admit that we've got to make deals. And it seems like…. the far-right guys are mad at McCarthy for making deals, but both these guys admitted that they're gonna have to negotiate deals and get the best they can get."

Another House Republican told Axios that Jordan is a tough sell for Republicans in swing districts.

According to that lawmaker, " (Jordan) said it wasn't his job to campaign for everyone in his earlier roles. As speaker, it will be. His biggest weakness is he has done very little for purple district GOP members, while Steve has been there from Day 1."

Read Axios' full report at this link.

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