Republican Representative Trent Kelly told reporters after the vote on Wednesday after rejecting McCarthy, “You have 20 people demanding that the 201 surrender unconditionally to them. Well, I’m not going to surrender.”
The inability to agree on a leader also raises questions about whether Republicans will force a government shutdown or risk default in a massive spending cut later this year. Some holdouts say they expect McCarthy or any other Republican leader to take that approach.
alternative?
If McCarthy ultimately fails to unite Republicans, he will have to look for an alternative. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise and Representative Jim Jordan, who have supported McCarthy. Jordan received 20 votes when nominated Tuesday by the holdouts.
Republicans may also look to Democrats for help, although House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters they have not been reached out. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told Reuters that he and others may support a moderate Republican who would agree to share subpoena power with Democrats and avoid fractiousness on government funding and debt limits.