WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th November, 2022) US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's bid for speaker in the next Congress is imperiled by opposition to his leadership by five fellow Republican congressmen, Fox news reported on Monday.
With Republicans expected to hold a slim 222-seat majority in the House when the new Congress begins work in January, McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes from fellow party members before he is unable to reach the 218 votes needed to become speaker, the report said.
Five Republican congressmen have so far expressed opposition to McCarthy's leadership: Matt Gaetz, Ralph Norman, Andy Biggs, Bob Good and Matt Rosendale, the report said.
Gaetz, Norman and Biggs are considered a "hard no" on McCarthy, while Good and Rosendale have not entirely ruled out the possibility of voting for him, the report said.
Both lawmakers have said that concessions on House rules regarding the speaker's control over committees and how bills move through the lower chamber of Congress could sway their support, the report said.
McCarthy has already agreed to some of the demands, such as altering the composition of the internal Republican panel in charge of making committee assignments, the report added.
Republicans tentatively won a majority in the House of Representatives following the midterm elections earlier this month. Democrats retained their majority in the Senate going into the second half of President Joe Biden's term in office.
