The House Republicans suffered a disappointing showing during Tuesday’s midterm elections — and it could cost House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy his shot at being Speaker of the House in 2023.
With votes still being counted as of Wednesday afternoon, some representatives are pointing the finger at McCarthy.
“Knives are out for Kevin McCarthy,” one GOP insider told Fox News White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich.
Another GOP source added, “If you look at what happened in Florida last night, that’s what McCarthy [was] promising would happen across the rest of the country. But it didn’t.”
The source was presumably referring to Florida voters’ impressive showing for Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio. “A lot of rank and file members of Congress right now though are thinking to themselves that we need new energized leadership that is going to be focused on the working class voters,” the same source added later.
All in all, four GOP bigwigs cast doubt on McCarthy’s likelihood to become Speaker of the House.
A senator becomes a party leader by winning support from the majority of colleagues in his or her own party.
However, a representative becomes a House speaker by winning support from the majority of all representatives.
In other words, McCarthy would need 218 out of 435 votes to become House speaker.
Nancy Pelosi also needed 218 votes to become House speaker, but she’s commanded a majority large enough to spare some defectors. For example, Pelosi famously lost all support from Virginia Democrat Abigail Spanberger, but Pelosi cobbled together 218 votes, anyway.
The GOP is headed for a slim majority… and McCarthy may have no room to spare.
“If he is under 225, expect Scalise to make a move quickly for speaker,” a previously mentioned source told Heinrich, after making the “knives” out” comment.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., currently serves as minority whip, the third-ranked position among House Republicans. Scalise received national attention in 2017 for surviving a shooting.
Some observers recalled the House’s leadership race from October 2015. Back then, McCarthy was frequently mentioned as a possibility to become speaker, but then he made an infamous gaffe on TV while discussing the House’s investigations into State Secretary Hillary Clinton.
Yet another GOP insider told Heinrich, “House leadership race will be Lord of the Flies, but with bath salts… And for once the Florida Man is the normal one!”
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Another GOP source sees below tweet, texts me “If you look at what happened in Florida last night, that’s what McCarthy and also Rick Scott were promising would happen across the rest of the country. But it didn’t” https://t.co/FgODTnlX5O
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 9, 2022
Third GOP source sees below tweet, texts me “House leadership race will be Lord of the Flies, but with bath salts… And for once the Florida Man is the normal one!” https://t.co/FgODTnlX5O
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 9, 2022
More from this GOP source: “A lot of rank and file members of Congress right now though are thinking to themselves that we need new energized leadership that is going to be focused on the working class voters” https://t.co/r6MiimeojO
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 9, 2022
The Horn editorial team