And even then it can be a futile endeavor. It will effect you.
McCarthy makes fresh concessions to try to woo hard-right Republicans in speaker bid
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has made fresh concessions to a group of 20 GOP lawmakers in hopes of ending their blockade of his speakership ahead of votes Thursday, a stunning reversal that, if adopted, would weaken the position of speaker and ensure a tenuous hold on the job.
During late-hour negotiations Wednesday, McCarthy (R-Calif.) agreed to the proposed rule changes, according to four people familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
In a major allowance to the hard-right Republicans, McCarthy offered to lower from five to one the number of members required to sponsor a resolution to force a vote on ousting the speaker — a change that the California Republican had previously said he would not accept.
McCarthy also expressed a willingness to place more members of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus on the House Rules Committee, which debates legislation before it’s moved to the floor.
And he relented on allowing floor votes to institute term limits on members and to enact specific border policy legislation.
These Republicans voted against Kevin McCarthy for House speaker
“I don’t think a vote tonight will make a difference,” he said. “But a vote in the future will.”
McCarthy has failed six times to secure the necessary votes to become speaker over two days of voting, a stalemate for majority Republicans that highlighted deep divisions within the party and raised questions about whether the GOP can run the House with a slim advantage.
Amid the humiliating defeats in floor votes, McCarthy has struggled to win over the defectors. Through three rounds of voting Wednesday, he failed to gain any support — and in fact lost a vote from one lawmaker, Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), who switched her vote to “present” as a message to her colleagues to reach a compromise.
In another bid to woo holdouts, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC endorsed by McCarthy, and the conservative Club for Growth, which had initially signaled opposition to McCarthy as speaker, announced a deal Wednesday to stay out of open House primaries for safe Republican seats.
“Kevin McCarthy has effectively led House Republicans from the Minority to the Majority and we want to see him continue to lead the party so we can pick up seats for the third cycle in a row,” Conservative Leadership Fund President Dan Conston said in a statement.
During the midterm elections, the McCarthy-endorsed group worked to elect more moderate Republican candidates considered more willing to govern, an intervention that alienated staunch hard-liners in the House Freedom Caucus.
Club for Growth President David McIntosh said Wednesday that the agreement not to interfere with “safe-seat primaries” fulfilled a major concern they had pressed for.
“We understand that Leader McCarthy and Members are working on a rules agreement that will meet the principles we have set out previously,” McIntosh said in a statement. “Assuming these principles are met, Club for Growth will support Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.”
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has made fresh concessions to a group of 20 GOP lawmakers in hopes of ending their blockade of his speakership ahead of votes Thursday, a stunning reversal that, if adopted, would weaken the position of speaker and ensure a tenuous hold on the job.
During late-hour negotiations Wednesday, McCarthy (R-Calif.) agreed to the proposed rule changes, according to four people familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
In a major allowance to the hard-right Republicans, McCarthy offered to lower from five to one the number of members required to sponsor a resolution to force a vote on ousting the speaker — a change that the California Republican had previously said he would not accept.
McCarthy also expressed a willingness to place more members of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus on the House Rules Committee, which debates legislation before it’s moved to the floor.
And he relented on allowing floor votes to institute term limits on members and to enact specific border policy legislation.
These Republicans voted against Kevin McCarthy for House speaker
- Rep. Andy Biggs
- Rep. Dan Bishop
- Rep. Lauren Boebert
- Rep. Josh Brecheen
- Rep. Michael Cloud
- Rep. Andrew Clyde
- Rep. Eli Crane
- Rep. Matt Gaetz
- Rep. Bob Good
- Rep. Paul Gosar
- Rep. Andy Harris
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna
- Rep. Mary Miller
- Rep. Ralph Norman
- Rep. Andy Ogles
- Rep. Scott Perry
- Rep. Matt Rosendale
- Rep. Chip Roy
- Rep. Keith Self
- Rep. Byron Donalds
It remained unclear early Thursday whether the concessions could move the holdouts, several of whom have said they will not support McCarthy no matter what. The House is scheduled to reconvene at noon Thursday for more voting. But some moderates have grown irate at the moves, after pledging last month they would never support a rules package that gives one House member the power to vacate the speaker.
McCarthy emerged from the Wednesday night meeting bluntly telling reporters that the impasse continued, but suggested that progress was being made.“I don’t think a vote tonight will make a difference,” he said. “But a vote in the future will.”
McCarthy has failed six times to secure the necessary votes to become speaker over two days of voting, a stalemate for majority Republicans that highlighted deep divisions within the party and raised questions about whether the GOP can run the House with a slim advantage.
Amid the humiliating defeats in floor votes, McCarthy has struggled to win over the defectors. Through three rounds of voting Wednesday, he failed to gain any support — and in fact lost a vote from one lawmaker, Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), who switched her vote to “present” as a message to her colleagues to reach a compromise.
In another bid to woo holdouts, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC endorsed by McCarthy, and the conservative Club for Growth, which had initially signaled opposition to McCarthy as speaker, announced a deal Wednesday to stay out of open House primaries for safe Republican seats.
“Kevin McCarthy has effectively led House Republicans from the Minority to the Majority and we want to see him continue to lead the party so we can pick up seats for the third cycle in a row,” Conservative Leadership Fund President Dan Conston said in a statement.
During the midterm elections, the McCarthy-endorsed group worked to elect more moderate Republican candidates considered more willing to govern, an intervention that alienated staunch hard-liners in the House Freedom Caucus.
Club for Growth President David McIntosh said Wednesday that the agreement not to interfere with “safe-seat primaries” fulfilled a major concern they had pressed for.
“We understand that Leader McCarthy and Members are working on a rules agreement that will meet the principles we have set out previously,” McIntosh said in a statement. “Assuming these principles are met, Club for Growth will support Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.”
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