Dozens of Republicans have indicated they plan to vote for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker no matter how drawn out the voting process becomes, according to letters circulated among Republicans this week.
The letters, first reported by Politico, came from Republican Main Street Caucus leaders and from a group of Republicans who won districts that President Joe Biden carried in 2020.
In the Main Street Caucus’s letter, sent Friday, chair Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and vice chair Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) wrote that their more than 70-member caucus had come to a “strong consensus” that they would vote for McCarthy and that they would not support behind-the-scenes negotiations that “reward chaos” and that do not “expediently” result in McCarthy’s election. Read more…