Kevin McCarthy Seeks To Lock Up Speakership In Late Night Vote Amid Uncertainty Over GOP Holdouts

Kevin McCarthy sought to lock up the votes to be elected speaker of the House as the yet-to-be-sworn-in members elected gathered for a late-night 14th roll call.

The vote will be close. In the most recent roll call, McCarthy mustered 114 votes, again falling short of a majority, with six Republicans still holding out. There was buzz that some of them, like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who earlier gave a blistering floor speech against McCarthy, would simply vote “present” and lower the threshold he needed to win. CNN reported that Gaetz was seen walking out of McCarthy’s office, but he would not say how he would vote.

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There also was an expectation that two Republicans who have been absent from Friday’s roll calls would return, again helping McCarthy’s chances.

Some Democrats, meanwhile, appear resigned to the possibility that the weeklong standoff among Republicans would soon come to an end. They had relished in 11 straight votes where Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had garnered the most votes of any speaker candidate, albeit not enough of a majority.

“The word is circling around. The intent is still strong. Kevin McCarthy is still standing,” one Democratic lawmaker said before entering the chamber.

If McCarthy is able to pull out a victory tonight, the plans are to move to the swearing in of the members and then to the passing of a rules package. There is some concern among Republicans that, given some of McCarthy’s concessions to the Freedom Caucus right, a handful of moderates will vote against the package.

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