https://www.theamericanconservative.com/scalping-a-hopeful-speaker/[McCarthy, despite some members of his caucus decrying his corporate and swampy ways, was well-positioned to become the next speaker, but Republican underperformance in the 2022 midterm elections outside of Florida and New York gave the anti-McCarthy movement the traction it needed to fight his speakership.
Republicans' failure to seize the moment left the caucus with a razor-thin majority. On Tuesday, the 118th Congress was divided between 222 Republicans and 212 Democrats, despite Republicans winning the midterm popular vote by nearly 3 percentage points. And McCarthy needed almost every vote from the Republican members to secure the Speaker's gavel. But five Republican representatives, Rep. Bob Good from Virginia, Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs all came out as hard nays against McCarthy's bid before the January 3 elections.
After negotiations failed to convince his objectors to vote for his candidacy, McCarthy tried to play hardball with the House Freedom Caucus. In a closed-door meeting just prior to the first vote, McCarthy said there was nothing more the two factions could negotiate on, and reportedly ended his remarks by yelling "I've earned this job," followed by an expletive.In the same GOP conference meeting, Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama reportedly suggested that McCarthy opponents should lose their committee assignmentssomething that was crucial to the negotiations McCarthy and his detractors had prior.
Upon hearing Rogers's threat, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas stood and asked McCarthy to deny that could be the case. A question McCarthy refused to answer. "You just sealed your fate," Roy said, before storming out.With the end of round two, it became clear that the move against McCarthy was not just political theater. McCarthy's objectors were in it for the long haul.]
