The 118th US Congress will convene on January 3 next year and the first task for the House will be to appoint their new speaker. Kevin McCarthy is the present frontrunner but appears to be upended by the party owing allegiance to Trump.
Kevin McCarthy is himself upset that his appointment as the speaker is not assured. He has voiced concerns that if the present opposition by 5 Representatives from his party continues, their hard-fought majority in the House will amount to nothing.
Kevin McCarthy said that he faces sabotage from within the GOP caucus. The Republicans took over the House in the November midterms and now have 222 seats to the 213 held by the Democrats. House Democrat speaker Nancy Pelosi will step down. She is the first female to hold the position and is presently in this position since 2019. She had earlier served in the same position from 2007 to 2011. She steps down next January.
Kevin McCarthy’s Speaker Ambition Could Be Derailed If Just 5 Party Men Oppose Him
The Republicans will get to choose who gets to become the House speaker thanks to their majority position. Kevin McCarthy is a Congressman from California since 2007 and became a House Republican in 2019. The 57-year-old Republican has been eyeing the speakership of the House for quite some time now, but it appears that his party men are not willing to concede to his wish without a fight.
The Freedom Caucus, an ultra-conservative group of House Representatives has opposed his candidature and this blew into the open when an inner GOP leadership election was conducted. While McCarthy acquired 188 votes while Andy Biggs from Arizona has secured the backing of thirty-one Representatives who are opposed to Kevin McCarthy.
It will only take five Republican defections to derail Kevin McCarthy’s ambition and the same number of Representatives have made it apparent that they will oppose his appointment.
