Follow our live coverage Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become a House Speaker.
WASHINGTON — Some of the hard-right lawmakers who opposed California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker have held a grudge against him for years. Others haven’t even been sworn into Congress yet.
The uprising against Mr. McCarthy, who for years was considered the obvious choice for speaker should Republicans take control of the House, was led by a small clique of ultra-conservative lawmakers who have been the most outspoken about their opposition to him. It also includes a larger but quieter group of lawmakers who have long pushed for changes in the way the House works, and a slew of newcomers who have remained largely silent but are weighing their options.
With a razor-thin majority and almost certain that the Democrats will be unanimous against him, Mr. McCarthy gain nearly full support among Republicans to win the top post.
He has made a plethora of concessions in an attempt to influence his opponents, most notably agreeing to a rule that allows for a quick vote at any time to oust the speaker. But the rebels remained unmoved, even after urging from former President Donald J. Trump, the party’s most popular figure, and a colleague, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Here are the House Republicans jeopardizing Mr. McCarthy’s bid for speaker:
The leaders
A group of five lawmakers led the charge against Mr. McCarthy, with Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona, the former chair of the Freedom Caucus, emerging as the most vociferous. The pair were two of Trump’s most aggressive allies during his presidency.
A new congress
The 118th Congress takes place on January 3, with the Republicans taking control of the House and the Democrats the Senate.
The group also includes representatives Matt Rosendale of Montana, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Bob Good of Virginia. Mr. Norman, an ultra-conservative legislator, wrote days before President Biden’s inauguration to Mark Meadows, then-Trump’s chief of staff, advising him to urge Mr. Trump to “invoke the Marshall Bill ”, as reported by Talking Points Memo.
mr. Good, a self-described “biblical conservative” and former administrator at Liberty University, rose to power after winning a primary against an incumbent Republican led by drive-through convention. He took up the challenge after the incumbent, Denver Riggleman, himself an arch-conservative, faced backlash in his district for officiating a same-sex marriage for two of his campaign volunteers.
The ideological hardliners
The fight against Mr McCarthy is being sparked by a group of hardliners who have long complained that House power structures give leaders too much clout and have called for changes that would make it easier for small factions of dissenters to obstruct and amend legislation .
Representative Chip Roy of Texas, Senator Ted Cruz’s shaky former chief of staff steeped in procedural savvy, is one of the most outspoken advocates of such an overhaul. So does Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the current chairman of the Freedom Caucus who played a key role in a failed plot by Mr. Trump to fire the acting attorney general who stood behind the results of the 2020 election.
Another key player is Representative Dan Bishop of North Carolina, who was the architect of his state’s “bathroom law,” which required transgender people in public buildings to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificates.
The upcoming freshmen
No elected Republican member has so far declared opposition to Mr. McCarthy. But a few incoming members from highly conservative districts have hinted at it or publicized their skepticism about his leadership, and others have been silent on how they plan to vote.
Representatives Florida’s Anna Paulina Luna, Arizona’s Eli Crane, and Tennessee’s Andy Ogles all signed letters expressing their dissatisfaction with Mr. McCarthy’s concessions thus far.
“I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people telling me they don’t want me to vote for Kevin McCarthy, and I really listen to what my voters say,” said Ms. Luna, who worked at Turning Point USA, the hard-right activist network for young conservatives, Stephen K. Bannon told his podcast this weekend.
Mr. Crane, a former member of the Navy SEALs, has styled himself in the image of Mr. Trump, campaigning as an “America First candidate who is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and has the courage to take a stand against cancel culture and the radical left.” He has also denounced an “invasion” of the US border with Mexico.
Mr. Ogles is a former mayor who has called for the impeachment of Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
There are many other incoming ruby seat freshmen who could also defect, including Representative Elect Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma. Mr Brecheen promised voters he would oppose being “groomed for conformity in moderate positions” in Washington and told a local paper last month that he was praying to support Mr McCarthy as speaker.