Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel proclaimed Sunday that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is “on track” to become the next speaker of the House.
The RNC chairwoman was interviewed on Sunday morning by host John Catsimatidis on WABC, touching on the state of the party following disappointing midterm election results. She urged Republicans to coalesce around McCarthy ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
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“I wish we had it decided now. … Any delay in getting our agenda done is a delay the voters don’t want,” McDaniel said. “Kevin McCarthy has done a lot to elect these candidates, fund their candidacies. I think he’s on track to be the next speaker.”
“But … we just won’t know until Jan. 3rd,” she conceded.
McCarthy is facing a tougher-than-expected path to the speakership because five conservatives have said they will absolutely not vote for him on the House floor, and a somewhat larger group wants him to commit to various reforms in exchange for their votes.
The Republican House majority is smaller than expected, with the party gaining only nine seats in November’s elections. This gives the conservative dissenters outsize influence and means fewer people owe their new seats to McCarthy.
McDaniel has also faced some blowback over the election results, though she looks poised to win reelection to helm the RNC.
“We didn’t get the midterm we wanted,” she said. “We’ve got to figure out how do we become a party that attracts people to us?”
McDaniel did not think the controversies swirling around Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY), who has fabricated large portions of his resume and personal backstory, will have an impact on McCarthy’s chances.
“I think he will get to vote,” she said. “There are investigations. I think he’s cooperating with them, as he should. Ultimately, the voters of New York get to decide who gets to represent them in Congress. I don’t think anything is going to change his ability to vote.”
Santos is expected to support McCarthy.
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The new Republican House majority will be sworn in on Tuesday, which is also when the vote for the next House speaker will take place. Democrats retained control of the Senate with a net gain of one seat, lowering the importance of Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote.
McCarthy needs 218 votes to become speaker, unless some of his detractors vote “present” or decline to vote at all, lowering the threshold.
