WASHINGTON — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California told reporters Friday that he has the votes to be elected speaker, promising an end to a historic stalemate that has paralyzed Congress all week.
As members were approving a Friday afternoon motion to adjourn until 10 p.m. Eastern time, McCarthy told CNN’s Manu Raju that he knew he had the votes to win on the next ballot because he “counted.”
McCarthy flipped more than a dozen votes his way Friday and nearly won enough votes to clinch the speaker’s gavel on the 13th ballot.
