Kevin McCarthy faces long battle for House speaker | First Thing
House adjourned until noon today as McCarthy becomes the first nominee for speaker in 100 years to fail to win the first vote. Plus, the truth behind 10 of the biggest health beliefs
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Good morning.
In what is being described as “the most humiliating day of his political career”, the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, is facing a protracted battle to secure the speaker’s gavel after failing to win the first three votes on the opening day of the new Congress yesterday.
Why do some Republicans oppose McCarthy? The Republican opposition to McCarthy has been led by members of the House Freedom Caucus, a hard-right group that has pushed for changes to chamber rules. Scott Perry, the Freedom Caucus chair, reiterated his opposition yesterday and accused McCarthy of failing to work in good faith with his group. “At nearly every turn, we’ve been sidelined or resisted by McCarthy,” Perry said.
What else did Suozzi say? “It saddens me that after 30 years of public service rooted in hard work and service to the people of this area, I’m being succeeded by a con man.”
