Rep. Kevin McCarthy has made concessions to the 20 Republican congressmen who are blocking him from obtaining the speakership.
During negotiations on Wednesday night, McCarthy (R-CA) reportedly agreed to several proposed rule changes by the dissenting GOP lawmakers. These concessions included lowering the threshold for a motion to vote out the speaker to one member, despite McCarthy having formerly said he would not agree to this.
Previously, McCarthy had agreed to lower the threshold to five members in a proposed House rules package released on the weekend.
McCarthy also indicated he is willing to place more members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus on the House Rules Committee, which debates legislation before it moves to the floor.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) also said Wednesday that discussions also involved congressional spending.
“There was a prong in there for how are we going to end limitless spending in this town,” he said. “We’ve got some vague notions of what we’re talking about. I’ve got some stuff here from a conversation that I gotta go figure out what it means.”
McCarthy said the same day that, while he was still in a standoff with the group of 20 Republicans, progress is being made.
“I don’t think a vote tonight will make a difference,” he said. “But a vote in the future will.”
McCarthy went on to lose the seventh, eighth, and ninth votes on Thursday as well.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, one of the lawmakers voting against McCarthy is North Texas Rep.-elect Keith Self, who was elected in November to represent Texas’ third congressional district.
“I voted for my district,” he said. “The majority of my constituents have voiced their concerns about one — the Speaker of the House, but even more so, they want change.”
“As I saw the process develop, I realized some of the more moderate Republicans have made concessions — that’s their word, not mine — concessions in order to get Kevin (McCarthy) across the line,” Self continued. “I don’t actually see them as believing in the rules.”