2 Top Republicans Back McCarthy as Next House Speaker

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) holds his weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Oct.28, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Two top Republican lawmakers expressed confidence in House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid to become House speaker, now that the party has captured a majority in the lower chamber after four years in the minority.

Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Michael Turner (R-Ohio), likely the next chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, said they believe that the current House minority leader would win the top spot in January when the 118th Congress convenes.

“And the fact is, what’s the alternative?” McCaul told ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Nov. 27, during his appearance alongside Turner, when asked about whether McCarthy would secure the votes.

“Kevin has proven to be the leader of the Republican House, and I do think he will get the votes to 218 on Jan. 3.”

McCaul also claimed that McCarthy “has worked harder than any other candidate for speaker.”

His colleague echoed a similar opinion.

“He is the leader. He’s been the leader of our team. And he’s going to stay the leader of our team,” Turner said. “I certainly look forward to when we get past Jan. 3 to get to work and get these committees back to doing the jobs that they are supposed to do.”

A 188–31 vote for McCarthy gave him the GOP nomination, putting him in line to be the next speaker in a Republican-controlled House in January. However, a growing list of Republican lawmakers have voiced opposition, including Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).

McCarthy will need at least 218 votes from the entire House to win the speakership.

Republicans have long vowed to clamp down on the Biden administration in the wake of a new House majority by looking into a slew of issues, such as Democrats’ handling of the southern border, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who will likely chair the House Oversight Committee in the next Congress, told NBC News that the committee will investigate about “40 or 50 different things,” including suspicious activity reports related to the Biden family’s alleged business dealings.

Now, clinching a narrower-than-expected House majority in the November elections, the party will split control of the next Congress with Democrats.

Many Republicans have doubled down on efforts seeking to remove Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from office over the worsening border crisis, while others argue that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice has been “weaponized” against conservatives and President Joe Biden’s political enemies.