Kevin McCarthy Is Another Week Closer To Going Down

Kevin McCarthy still doesn't have the 218 votes needed to be elected speaker, and if he doesn't find them in three weeks his career will likely be over.

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The Clock Is Ticking On Kevin McCarthy

Another week has come and gone in the House of Representatives, and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy still doesn’t have votes secured to be the next speaker.

Punchbowl News reported on the situation as of Monday morning:

McCarthy has 22 days until the speaker vote to kick off the 118th Congress, which is set for Jan. 3. Last week, we scooped that McCarthy met with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of his biggest detractors, but to no avail. McCarthy has another week of wheeling and dealing to get the 218 votes he needs to become speaker. Meanwhile, his opponents are being asked who they prefer as the speaker. That’s almost besides the point. The opposition, led by Gaetz and Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), simply have to take McCarthy down. That will force a debate on who should be next.

Minority Leader McCarthy has constantly been negotiating with the far-right fringe of his caucus in an attempt to secure the votes that he needs to be elected speaker on the House floor, but he is getting nowhere because the goal of his opposition isn’t to name someone else speaker but to defeat him.

If Kevin McCarthy loses on the House floor what happens next?