Who Are the Republicans Opposing McCarthy’s Speaker Bid?
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WASHINGTON — Some of the hard-right lawmakers opposing Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, for speaker have nursed grudges against him for years. Others have not even been sworn in to Congress yet.
The revolt against Mr. McCarthy, who for years had been considered the obvious choice for speaker should Republicans win control of the House, has been led by a small coterie of ultraconservative lawmakers who have been the most outspoken about their opposition to him. The rebellion also includes a larger but quieter group of lawmakers who have long agitated for changes in the way the House operates, and a set of newcomers.
With a razor-thin majority and Democrats opposing him unanimously, Mr. McCarthy must secure near-total support among Republicans to win the top post. He failed to do so on Tuesday, losing three votes before the House adjourned without selecting a speaker. Lawmakers will reconvene at noon on Wednesday to continue.
Mr. McCarthy has made a cornucopia of concessions to try to sway his detractors, most notably agreeing to a rule that would allow a snap vote at any time to oust the speaker. But the rebels have remained unmoved, even after prodding from former President Donald J. Trump, the most popular figure in the party, and a hard-right colleague, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
These are the House Republicans imperiling Mr. McCarthy’s bid for speaker:
The Ringleaders
A group of five lawmakers were early leaders of the charge against Mr. McCarthy, with Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona, the former chairman of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, emerging as the most vocal. The pair were two of Mr. Trump’s most aggressive allies during his presidency.
A New Congress Begins
The 118th Congress opened on Jan. 3, with Republicans taking control of the House and Democrats holding the Senate.
The group also includes Representatives Matt Rosendale of Montana, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Bob Good of Virginia. Mr. Norman, an ultraconservative lawmaker, wrote to Mark Meadows, then Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, days before President Biden’s inauguration advising him to urge Mr. Trump to “invoke Marshall Law,” as reported by Talking Points Memo.
Mr. Good, a self-described “biblical conservative” and former administrator at Liberty University, ascended to power after winning a primary against an incumbent Republican conducted by drive-through convention. He mounted the challenge after the incumbent, Denver Riggleman, faced backlash in his district for officiating a same-sex wedding for two of his campaign volunteers.
In the last round of voting for speaker on Tuesday, all the ringleaders voted for Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, even though he is supporting Mr. McCarthy.
The Ideological Hard-Liners
Fueling the fight against Mr. McCarthy is a group of hard-liners who have long complained that the House’s power structures give leaders too much influence and have argued for changes that would make it easier for small factions of dissenters to obstruct and change legislation.
Representative Chip Roy of Texas, a wonky former chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz who is steeped in procedural knowledge, has been among the most vocal advocates of such an overhaul. So has Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the current Freedom Caucus chairman who played a key role in an unsuccessful plot by Mr. Trump to fire the acting attorney general who stood by 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 bill,” which required transgender people in public buildings to use the bathroom corresponding with the gender on their birth certificate.
They, too, voted for Mr. Jordan.
The Incoming Freshmen
A few incoming members from deeply conservative districts have also opposed Mr. McCarthy.
Representatives-elect Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Eli Crane of Arizona and Andy Ogles of Tennessee all signed on to letters indicating that they were unsatisfied with Mr. McCarthy’s concessions thus far.
“I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people telling me that they don’t want me to vote for Kevin McCarthy, and I do listen to what my constituents say,” Ms. Luna, who worked at Turning Point USA, the hard-right activist network for young conservatives, told the former Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon on his podcast over the 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” at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Mr. Ogles is a former mayor who has called for the impeachment of Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Other incoming freshmen from ruby-red seats also defected, including Representative-elect Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma. Mr. Brecheen promised voters that he would resist being “groomed for conformity into moderate positions” in Washington and told a local paper last month that he was praying about whether to support Mr. McCarthy for speaker.
They all voted for Mr. Jordan.
Luke Broadwater contributed reporting.
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