As the House tries for a second day to elect a speaker and get down to the business of legislating, a group of those leading the opposition to selecting Rep. Kevin McCarthy for the position told the California Republican that they're even willing to have the vote go to a plurality with Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries becoming speaker, Jake Sherman tweeted Wednesday.
Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News, wrote in the tweet that the group issuing the threat — including Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; and Scott Perry, R-Pa. — told McCarthy in a private meeting Tuesday that they're willing to have Jeffries, D-N.Y., become the speaker, because, in any case, they will fight against him.
The group also insisted, as part of their demands from McCarthy, their own legal entity in the House to wage lawsuits.
The House is unable to fully form without electing a speaker. Crucial steps that cannot be taken before a speaker is voted in include swearing in House members, naming committee chairs, carrying out floor proceedings, and initiating probes, The Associated Press reported.
The opposition to McCarthy is being led by conservative members who believe that he's neither conservative enough nor combative enough to take on the Democrats.
However, Sherman wrote on Twitter that "when the anti-McCarthy vote screams that it's not personal, that's a vast oversimplification of the interpersonal dynamics that have driven the House Republican Conference for more than a decade."
Sherman added that "it actually is, in many senses, quite personal."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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