Funviralpark Current and incoming Republicans in the House of Representatives, who represent the battlefields and constituencies President Biden won in the 2020 presidential election, pledged on Thursday to support only House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R, Calif.). .
A group of 15 signatories, six congressmen and nine congressmen-elect, said in a letter to their Republican colleagues that they do not support a “shadow ‘consensus candidate'” for the presidency. .
the letter is Politico got first.
“Let me be clear: Not only do we endorse Kevin McCarthy as Congressman, we are also not open to the so-called shadow ‘consensus candidates. It doesn’t matter how many votes it takes to elect McCarthy as Speaker of the House,” they said.
Their pledge comes as they try to secure enough support for McCarthy to be elected Speaker at the 118th Congress on Tuesday.
At least five Republican congressmen have directly or strongly said they do not support McCarthy, and many more are calling for the nomination of the next speaker. With the Republicans holding only a majority in the House’s next session, McCarthy would be allowed to lose four of his votes to win the House Speaker election, assuming all members of the House are present and voting. not.
Five lawmakers who opposed McCarthy said they would not support him, but did not offer clear options to win the presidency instead.
The letter’s signatories said no conservative candidate other than McCarthy could win the support of 218 Republican lawmakers. They noted that McCarthy accepted several rule changes requested by members for the Republican Congress and the House as a whole.
McCarthy has voiced support for several rule changes, including a requirement that 72 hours must elapse after the final text of the bill is published before it can be voted on. He also expressed his support for calls from some House Republicans last week to block legislative proposals from Senate Republicans who voted on a comprehensive government funding bill.
But he told conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt earlier this month that the five members were not moving against his chairmanship.
The letter’s signatories are concerned that some of the rule changes McCarthy has embraced could inadvertently give minority Democrats more power, but they should keep the Republican convention at McCarthy’s. He said he would support the change if they were united behind it.
“It is my sincere hope that we can all come together to ensure that we are in the business of addressing the challenges facing the American people,” they said.
