Even though he does not have all the votes needed to secure his place as House Speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy has moved into Nancy Pelosi’s former office.
McCarthy’s move takes place ahead of of Tuesday’s vote for the speaker spot. There are about a dozen Republicans that are still not on board with making McCarthy the leader. Of the 222 Republicans in the House, McCarthy needs to 218 votes to secure his seat. At the most, he can only allow four votes to not be in his favor.
McCarthy will state his case beginning at 9:30 on Tuesday. Votes are expected to be called by noon.
McCarthy is viewed as an establishment Republican, part of the group of the ruling class that try to stunt conservative efforts to limit government expansion and spending.
However, if McCarthy is not elected, some Republicans are threatening to vote with the Democrats, in hopes to move a “moderate” candidate to the party’s top-spot.
Some speculate Steve Scalise could emerge as the winner, having positioned himself as an alternate to McCarthy.
The events of Tuesday could result in the Republican hold-outs to, at the last minute, approve McCarthy as speaker. Or, members could throw the party into chaos and continuing the search for speaker.
Regardless of how things turn out today, the struggle surrounding McCarthy puts the GOP’s infighting and ideological differences on full display for the nation to see.
