Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Monday scrambled to line up enough Republican votes to win election as speaker of the House as a handful of right-wing holdouts continued to warn they will not support him.
With a narrow majority of just 222 seats, McCarthy cannot afford to lose the support of more than four GOP lawmakers to win the speaker’s gavel when the new Congress convenes on Tuesday.
The Republican leader has already proposed several key policy and procedural concessions in hopes of winning over members of the Freedom Caucus, most of whom are staunch supporters of former President Donald Trump.
