January 3, 2023 Latest on the new Congress and House speaker vote

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy emerged from the closed door GOP conference meeting and acknowledged it was "intense," but added that it was "intense for a purpose."

Speaking about the list of demands he got last night, McCarthy said, "I was presented the only way to have 218 votes — if I provided certain members with certain positions certain gavels to take over certain committee to have certain budgets. And they even came to the position where one Matt Gaetz said, ‘I don't care if we go to plurality and we elect Hakeem Jeffries,’ and it hurts the new frontline members not to get reelected."

"Well, that's not about America, and I will always fight to put the American people first," McCarthy added. "Not a few individuals that want something for themselves. So we may have a battle on the floor. But the battle is for the conference and the country and that's fine with me."

Pressed on what he will do if it goes to multiple votes McCarthy said, "I have the record for the longest speech ever on the floor. I don't have a problem getting a record for the most votes for speaker."

The heated conference meeting among Republican lawmakers didn’t change GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s math problem: He doesn’t have 218 votes and the hardliners aren’t moving.

Republican Rep. Bob Good said, “nothing has changed” after the meeting, adding that he is still a "NO," no matter what. “I don’t think he won anybody over that he didn’t have already,” adding that they feel even more strongly that their “cause is just.”

Republican Rep. Andy Biggs says he is still running as an alternative and won’t drop out. That will siphon votes away from McCarthy.

Republican Matt Rosendale told CNN McCarthy "lied" in his remarks at the meeting. He made clear he's still opposed to McCarthy and said the meeting further inflamed tensions. 

Rep. Chip Roy wouldn’t say whether he will support McCarthy as speaker, adding that he wants “someone who will fight for the American people as much as fighting to be Speaker, and that’s what I’m trying to work for.”

Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, both opposed to McCarthy as speaker, went into Rep. Andy Biggs' office. Boebert told reporters that she "will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy"

Rep. Dan Bishop also came out in opposition to McCarthy after the meeting. He is one of the nine GOP lawmakers who wrote the Sunday letter saying concessions so far were not good enough.

But McCarthy told members he’s not dropping out.

“He says he’s not going anywhere,” Republican Brett Guthrie said of McCarthy. “I think Kevin should stay however long it takes.”

One GOP lawmaker says Freedom Caucus members couldn't say what they wanted from McCarthy. “When asked point blank what more they wanted HFC couldn’t answer. Says a lot.”

Another source says House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy pressed GOP Rep. Scott Perry on that and he wouldn’t say. 

Republicans will only have a slim majority – 222 Republicans compared with 212 Democrats – which means Rep. Kevin McCarthy can’t afford many defections if he is to find the 218 votes needed to make him speaker of the House.

But McCarthy does not technically need 218 votes to become speaker. A majority of those present and voting is required to get the speakership, which is usually 218 lawmakers. But if enough people skip the vote or vote “present,” the number of votes required for a majority can drop.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was elected with 216 votes in 2021.

Former Speaker John Boehner won reelection to the post with 216 votes in 2015 after beating back a conservative rebellion like the one McCarthy is dealing with now.

Most of the negotiation and arm-twisting happens long before the floor vote. Pelosi got 220 votes in 2019 after turning most of the fellow Democrats who opposed her. She did so by agreeing to serve only another few years as speaker, a pledge she kept by announcing her decision in November to not seek reelection for leadership.

Embattled Congressman-elect George Santos did not answer any questions from reporters as he entered his office Tuesday morning before being sworn into Congress.  

The New York Republican saw reporters outside of his office from down the hall and immediately turned around and quickly walked away. 

Santos is facing mounting scrutiny and condemnation over lies about his biography and amid an investigation by federal prosecutors into his finances.

Just this morning, CNN reported that law enforcement officials in Brazil will reinstate fraud charges against Santos.

As House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy struggles to lock down the votes to become speaker, his top deputy has kept his head down.

Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 in the House GOP leadership, has made clear he supports McCarthy, and GOP sources say he has rejected pleas by hardliners to mount a challenge to the California Republican – all while taking steps to avoid being seen as plotting McCarthy’s demise.

But what is less clear: What Scalise will do if the race continues to drag out on Tuesday and goes to multiple ballots – and whether the Louisiana Republican will seek to maneuver his way into the speaker’s office if the stalemate persists. If McCarthy drops out of the race, Scalise is widely expected to run for the job, though sources close to the GOP leader say he plans to stay in the race as long as it takes to get the votes.

Yet another complicating factor: It is far from clear whether Scalise himself could get the 218 votes to win the speakership, underscoring the prospects that Tuesday could devolve into a long and drawn-out floor fight the chamber has not experienced in 100 years and one that could undercut Republicans’ ability to govern just as they come into power in the 118th Congress.

Others privately fault Scalise for not being more forceful in his support for McCarthy or insisting he would stick with the California Republican no matter how long it takes. And some Republican members say that will only hurt Scalise if he tries to become speaker now.

“I think Steve Scalise is going to have some problems,” one GOP member told CNN on Monday, adding: “If Kevin McCarthy doesn’t become speaker, then Steve Scalise has faint fingerprints on the dagger.”

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Rep. Ralph Norman, one of at least five lawmakers against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's speakership, announced in a closed-door meeting of Republican lawmakers that he will be voting for GOP Rep. Andy Biggs on the first ballot, a source tells CNN. 

Norman did not say what he would do after the first ballot, the source added.

If Republicans had won the House by a bigger margin, McCarthy wouldn't be in this position, Norman added.

Remember: This GOP meeting is happening ahead of the high-stakes House speaker vote, and CNN has reported that it is getting heated, with McCarthy, his supporters and opponents exchanging arguments.

McCarthy is facing a longshot challenge in the race from Biggs. McCarthy has defeated the Arizona congressman before – by a resounding vote of 188 to 31 in November when the House Republican conference voted for McCarthy to be its leader.

No other House business can be done until the speaker vote is finished, including swearing-in of the rest of the members. Until the speaker’s vote is decided, the clerk of the House is in charge of the chamber. 

At noon on Tuesday, the Clerk of the House – Cheryl Johnson — will gavel in the 118th Congress. They’ll do a prayer and the pledge, and then she will announce the certifications of the election of the 118th Congress have been received. 

Then they will have a quorum call. This is the first vote of the Congress. It’s a roll call vote. Members will vote present, they have to be in the chamber.

Then she will announce the vacancy of Virginia’s 4th Congressional District due to the death of Don McEachin.

The next order of business is the election of the House speaker. Democrats will place their party leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ name into nomination, and Republicans are expected to place Kevin McCarthy’s name. Rep. Andy Biggs is also expected to garner several votes in the first round. 

Then they’ll call the roll. Each member, when their name is called, will state the name of the person they are voting for. Can be one of the names in nomination, their own name, someone else’s name, or present, which is not a vote at all. 

The tellers will tally up the votes. The winner must have a majority of those voting for a person. Present votes subtract from that total, thus lowering the threshold for a majority of votes.

If no one amasses a majority of votes cast, it goes to a second ballot, and on and on. If it goes to multiple ballots, other candidates may have their names put in for nomination. 

If McCarthy doesn’t get the votes on the first ballot, there is the option to make a motion to adjourn, but it would take 218 votes to do that and Democrats are likely not inclined to help Republicans out in any way.

Historic context: There is no playbook for what the chamber will do if the speaker isn’t elected on the first ballot. The 1923 vote was decided on the ninth ballot, where they kept voting until a speaker was decided. The 1869 speaker vote lasted through 60 ballots over two months. This Congress may recess the chamber or they could continue voting. 

A closed-door meeting among Republican lawmakers ahead of the vote for House speaker is heating up.

As GOP leader Kevin McCarthy entered the room, he received a standing ovation from most people before he went over the rules package, sources tell CNN.

McCarthy raised his voice in the meeting as he animatedly teed off on his opponents, detailed all the concessions he has made and said that it hasn’t been good enough, two sources said.

A source called it a fiery speech and said McCarthy made clear he would negotiate no more. Another source told CNN that McCarthy took his opponents "to the woodshed like I've never seen.”

McCarthy said opponents came to him with “personal asks” on Monday night, such as committee assignments and special assignments. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert yelled “bullsh*t” in response to his speech, according to a source.  

GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, a McCarthy ally and incoming Chair of the House Armed Services, said in the meeting that anyone who votes against McCarthy won't get a committee, two sources tell CNN.  

CNN previously reported this was a threat McCarthy allies were considering.

As an aide left the meeting, a CNN reporter was able to observe through the open door that GOP members packed the room, listening quietly. Maybe a dozen members were waiting to speak on the microphone that stood in the center hallway.

Rep. Chip Roy addressed Rogers' comments at the open microphone and was upset, a source said. He got into a heated back and forth with the GOP leader, with McCarthy teeing off on Roy, yet acknowledging he won’t have the votes on first ballot, and then Roy responding: “All you’re doing is guaranteeing the vote.” 

The conference cheered on McCarthy as he took his detractors head on.

Rep. Ryan Zinke spoke up in favor of McCarthy, saying: "I'll use the words of Teddy Roosevelt. You're either with us or against us. The stakes are too high. I'm with you Kevin."

GOP Rep. Scott Perry got in a heated back-and-forth with McCarthy, even raising their voices in the closed door meeting, multiple sources tell CNN. 

Perry accused McCarthy of not having a track record on spending bills. McCarthy asked Perry what is left for him to give, and questioned what he is still fighting for the sources added.

CNN's Manu Raju reports the latest from Capitol Hill:

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the incoming House Minority Leader, told reporters he does not expect any absences among Democrats and he is not aware of any of his members planning to vote “present” — two scenarios that would have lowered the threshold Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy needs to become speaker.

Jeffries declined to say whether Democrats would help McCarthy in any way or support a motion to adjourn Tuesday’s proceedings.

“We're focused right now on making sure that every single Democrat is present and voting, and I hope to be able to earn everyone's vote,” Jefferies said Monday ahead of the convening of the new Congress. 

He did reflect on the uncertainty of the moment. 

Remember: McCarthy does not technically need 218 votes to become speaker. A majority of those present and voting is required to get the speakership, which is usually 218 lawmakers. But if enough people skip the vote or vote “present,” the number of votes required for a majority can drop.