Kevin McCarthy said he remains “very confident” he will secure the Speakership despite losing six rounds of votes since Tuesday. Mr McCarthy is the first leading candidate for the position not to win the seat in the first round in 100 years, and his candidacy has split Republicans. The House leader insisted he had a “very good discussion” with fellow representatives as he forecast progress will be made.
Asked what his strategy was going forward, Mr McCarthy said: “Work through it, play together and solve our problems.”
And when asked whether he is still confident in a win, he looked to the press and said: “Yeah, very.”
He added: “You know, I think it’s probably best that people work through some more I think.
“I don’t think voting tonight does any difference but I think a vote in the future will.”
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Speaking ahead of the latest three votes to select the next Speaker, the California representative insisted: “I crawl before I walk, I walk before I run. I felt as though we had a very good discussion.”
But the results over the past two days have shown the GOP remains split on who exactly they want to take over the chair through the 118th Congress.
Mr McCarthy was approached by a group of reluctant colleagues, who presented requests for committee assignations in exchange for their vote but were refused.
Others have expressed some frustration at the House leader’s association with Donald Trump, who renewed his support of the California congressman on Wednesday.
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“When the dust settles, we will have a Republican Speaker, now is the time for our conference to debate and come to a consensus.
“This will take time, Democracy is messy at times, but we will be ready to govern on behalf of the American people. Debate is healthy.”
The Florida Rep-elect had previously written on Twitter: “The reality is Rep. Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have the votes.
“I committed my support to him publicly and for two votes on the House Floor. 218 is the number, and currently, no one is there.
“Our conference needs to recess and huddle and find someone or work out the next steps.”
The Democrats have also been pushing forward a potential alternative to Mr McCarthy in Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become the first Black lawmaker to lead the party in Congress should he not succeed to become Speaker.
