Kevin McCarthy gains new votes in quest for House speaker

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., made progress in his quest to become the next House speaker, but he’s still four votes short. McCarthy needed 217 votes to receive an overall majority, and he received 213. The threshold has been lowered from 218 votes because some members are absent, including Rep.-Elect Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, who went home because his wife had a baby. McCarthy told fellow Republicans on a conference call Friday morning that he had made progress but had not reached a final deal. As each of the defectors changed their votes to McCarthy, they received a standing ovation from the rest of the Republican conference. Follow Straight Arrow News on social media — Facebook:   / straightarrownews   Twitter:   / straightarrow__   Instagram:   / straightarrownews   TikTok:   / straightarrownews