House Republicans nominate Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House – NPR

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was nominated by House Republicans to serve as Speaker of the House when the new session of Congress begins in January, though control of the chamber remains unclear.

The California congressman was nominated by 188 to 31, a McCarthy aide told NPR.

With some GOP lawmakers voting for his challenger, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, a conservative House Freedom Caucus member, McCarthy faces a challenge uniting a fractured conference that’s still reeling from disappointing midterm election results. -mandate.

“We have a lot on our plate,” McCarthy told reporters after the vote. “[We’re going to] have a small majority, we need to listen to everyone in our conference.”

Tuesday’s closed-door caucus vote was the first step on McCarthy’s path to chairing the House chamber. The California Republican needs 218 votes to be elected in a public vote in the House on January 3. The next seven weeks will be a test of his ability to win over those who have called for a major leadership shake-up. But McCarthy said he was confident he would get 218 Republican votes by January.

“We’ll work together and we’ll get there,” McCarthy said.

After McCarthy and other leading Republicans promised a midterm red wave in 2022, some conservatives are demanding operational changes to make the legislative process more transparent.

House control is unclear, with several races still unscheduled a week after the election. But the GOP is on track to secure a majority — one in single digits. Before the official vote next year, McCarthy can’t afford to lose more than a few votes. If his opponents launch a challenge on the floor, the process could get messy and be a sign of a tumultuous GOP majority torn between hard-right supporters who refuse to compromise and more traditional members who believe voters sent them to Washington to show they can govern.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was one of the members who didn’t vote for McCarthy on Tuesday, and he vowed he wouldn’t vote for him in January either.

“Kevin McCarthy couldn’t get 218 votes today. He couldn’t get 200. He couldn’t get 190. So to believe Kevin is going to be a speaker, you have to believe he’s going to move votes in the next six weeks that he hasn’t been able to move in the last six years,” Gaetz said.

Former presidential candidates like Rep. Paul Ryan and Rep. Nancy Pelosi also faced challenges in their internal party votes but later prevailed on the floor. Several Republicans predicted that those who wanted to voice or protest the election results would eventually come back and support McCarthy.

Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole, an ally of McCarthy, made the case for him taking the hammer, saying he had proven he could handle the role effectively.

“The guy has added seats every time he’s been our leader,” Cole said. “He’s our best strategist, he’s our best fundraiser, he’s our best candidate scout. Isn’t he the guy you want to run? I think so.”