Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was just nominated to be the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in a 188-31 vote among Republicans during a closed-door vote, possibly indicating trouble ahead as Congress goes to a full vote on January 3 of next year.
McCarthy’s victory, while important for the alliance of establishment conservatives who joined 45th President Donald Trump to support him, comes as Republicans are projected to regain control of Congress following last week’s midterm elections.
where some have argued that the Republicans under performed against Democrats — stopping what was rumored to be a “red wave.”
Critics of McCarthy have pointed out that the current House Minority Leader does not have the required 218 votes necessary to win the floor vote in January despite receiving endorsements from 45th President Donald Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and other prominent Republicans.
BREAKING: RINO Kevin McCarthy FAILS to reach 218 Republican votes in the Conference meeting today
Which mean he doesn’t have the votes needed to become Speaker of the House
GREAT NEWS!
Time for new nominations before the real vote takes place in January 🇺🇸
— Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) November 15, 2022
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a vocal opponent of McCarthy, recently stated that there are “definitely more than five members of Congress who would rather be waterboarded by Liz Cheney than vote Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House, and I’m one of them.”
There are definitely more than five members of Congress who would rather be waterboarded by Liz Cheney than vote Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House, and I’m one of them. pic.twitter.com/UmZurW27Bk
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) November 15, 2022
In winning the initial vote, McCarthy successfully fended off a challenge for the position by Congressman Andy Biggs (R-LA), who yesterday said Republicans seek a “new paradigm” and “different direction from the House of Representatives.”
The McCarthy vote comes as top GOP figures cast blame on establishment Republican leadership over the midterm results, Valiant News reported.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) made himself the latest prominent Republican official to cast blame on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over the Republican Party’s poor midterm election performance.
“Well, let me start off by saying I am so pissed off, I cannot even see straight,” Cruz said on his “Verdict” podcast.
Cruz slammed McConnell for what “should have been a fundamental landslide election,” citing the Minority Leader’s withdrawal of crucial GOP funding from Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters’ campaign to use against another Trump-endorsed candidate in Alaska.
“We had an extraordinary opportunity. We had a generational opportunity. This should have been a fundamental landslide election. We should have won the House and the Senate. We should have a 30, 40, 50 vote majority in the House. We should have 53, 54, 55 Republicans in the Senate,” Cruz told co-host Ben Ferguson on Monday.
“I you look at this last cycle, Mitch McConnell pulled the money out of Arizona. We could have won — won Arizona. We nearly won Arizona and abandoning Blake Masters was indefensible,” Cruz said.
Trump also blamed McConnell for “spending money to defeat great Republican candidates instead of backing Blake Masters.”
“He blew the Midterms, and everyone despises him and his otherwise lovely wife, Coco Chow!” President Trump said.
