These Republicans have voted against McCarthy for House speaker
House Republicans have a narrow majority in the 118th Congress, and because of that, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is having some difficulty rounding up enough votes to win the gavel and succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House speaker.
At least 19 Republicans opposed McCarthy's bid to be speaker in the first several rounds of voting on the House floor this week. He easily won the nomination for speaker within the Republican conference, but he must still win 218 votes on the floor if all members are present.
Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida switched his vote on the third and subsequent ballots against McCarthy, and Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana switched her vote to "present" on the fourth ballot because she said she wanted more time. On Friday, Donalds switched his vote back, after McCarthy made some concessions to holdouts. Spartz also switched from "present" to McCarthy on Friday.
Here are the Republicans who did not support McCarthy's bid for the speaker's gavel during some or many of the rounds of voting. Thirteen switched their votes to McCarthy on Friday, following negotiations with McCarthy and his allies on Thursday. In the end, during the 15th round, six stated they were "present" for the speaker vote, allowing the threshold for a majority to fall enough for McCarthy to win the gavel.
Rep. Andy Biggs (Arizona)
Perhaps the most vocal opponent to a would-be Speaker McCarthy is Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, who ran against McCarthy within the Republican conference for speaker. The secret-ballot GOP conference vote was 188-31. Biggs also ran against McCarthy on the House floor Tuesday.
Biggs has expressed frustration that McCarthy and Republicans aren't doing enough to fight "radical Leftists" and are "failing to put the brakes on the Left." That's what Biggs wrote in a Nov. 18 op-ed in the conservative website "American Greatness."
On the eve of the vote, Biggs tweeted, "Even after the McCarthy Machine's attempts to whip votes and smear my name for several weeks, McCarthy is still well short of the 218 threshold. Our party still requires new leadership and I will continue to oppose McCarthy for House Speaker."
Biggs was one of the last holdouts to change his vote, supporting Jordan in the 14th round before saying "present" in the 15th round.
Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina)
Bishop said in a statement Tuesday, "Kevin McCarthy is not the right candidate to be Speaker."
"He has perpetuated the Washington status quo that makes this body one of the most unsuccessful and unpopular institutions in this country," Bishop said. He switched his vote to McCarthy in the 12th round.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colorado)
"As it stands, I will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy," Boebert told reporters shortly before Congress convened Tuesday.
In a tweet, she criticized McCarthy for rejecting a deal to "unify the conference" behind him.
She voted "present" in the 14th and 15th rounds of voting.
Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen (Oklahoma)
Brecheen, who was first elected to represent Oklahoma's 2nd District in November, said in a statement to the Tulsa World after the third ballot that his "message to Leader McCarthy has been — and continues to be — that to obtain my support for Speaker, transformative rule changes that stop out-of-control spending and address our debt loading must occur."
Brecheen aligned himself with the House Freedom Caucus during his campaign.
"A person's history is the greatest predictor of future behavior," Brecheen continued. "Leader McCarthy's past voting record supporting major spending bills as part of the Republican leadership for the past decade gives me pause. Without substantive rules changes that would guide Leader McCarthy on spending, I must vote as I have until we have a better deal for your children."
Brecheen switched his vote to McCarthy on Friday in the 12th ballot.
Rep. Michael Cloud (Texas)
In a statement, Cloud, who says he favors fiscal responsibility, suggested that he had doubts about the "sincerity" of reforms that were promised to ensure Congress could put the nation on the "right path" because there were no enforcement mechanisms.
Cloud voted for McCarthy on Friday in the 12th ballot.
Rep. Andrew Clyde (Georgia)
Clyde, elected to Congress in 2020, voted against McCarthy in the first 11 rounds, but supported him in the 12th.
Rep-elect Eli Crane (Arizona)
Crane was first elected to represent Arizona's 2nd District in November. He told Steve Bannon on his podcast that he had traveled around his district after being elected and "95%" of the people he spoke to told him that they didn't want McCarthy elected to be speaker. He also said he knew there were other Republicans on the floor who "wish they had the courage to stand with us."
"And there are people on that floor that know deep down inside that we're doing the right thing, but they don't want to deal with the repercussions, they don't want to deal with the backlash, they don't want to have leadership come and run someone in a primary against them, they don't want to get smeared on Fox News like you guys were just talking about," Crane said.
Crane voted for Biggs in the 14th round before voting "present" in the 15th.
Rep. Byron Donalds
Donalds, who was first elected in 2020 to represent southwest Florida, voted for McCarthy on the first two ballots, but switched his vote to Jordan on the third ballot. As the House reconvened for a second day, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas nominated Donalds to be speaker. Donalds picked up all the votes that went to Jordan on all the next ballots.
Donalds told CBS News' Nikole Killion that if he were elected to be speaker, "it's a job that I would do reluctantly."
"The job I really want to do is make sure we govern on behalf of the American people," Donalds said.
Donalds switched his vote to McCarthy on the 12th ballot on Friday.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (Florida)
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, one of former President Trump's most reliable allies in Congress, agrees with Biggs. Gaetz has consistently voiced his opposition to McCarthy as speaker.
"Kevin McCarthy (Establishment-CA) is now reduced to threatening and pressuring incoming freshmen House members to vote for him," Gaetz tweeted on Nov. 18, along with Biggs' op-ed. "We have the votes to force a change."
A day before the House GOP conference election, Gaetz told "The Charlie Kirk Show," "I'm not voting for Kevin McCarthy. I'm not voting for him tomorrow. I'm not voting for him on the floor."
In late December, he told The Daily Caller, "I'm not voting for Kevin McCarthy for Speaker because I think he's just a shill of the establishment...We need someone like Jim Jordan as the Speaker of the House."
In the second round of voting, Gaetz nominated Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, to be speaker.
As voting dragged into the third day, on the seventh ballot, Gaetz voted for former President Donald Trump.
In the 14th round, it was Gaetz's "present" vote that prevented McCarthy from winning during that ballot, forcing a 15th. He voted "present" in the 15th, but with five other holdouts voting "present," the threshold for a majority dropped, and McCarthy was finally able to win a majority.
Rep. Bob Good (Virginia)
Good told Fox News Monday that McCarthy is "part of the swamp cartel," and he predicted 10-15 Republicans would vote against him.
Good voted for Jordan in the 14th and then in the 15th voted "present."
Rep. Paul Gosar (Arizona)
Gosar nominated fellow Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs for speaker in the first round of voting. He flipped to McCarthy in the 12th round of voting Friday afternoon.
Rep. Andy Harris (Maryland)
Harris voted for former Rep. Lee Zeldin in the first round of balloting. He switched his vote to McCarthy in the 13th round.
"Washington and Congress are broken," Harris tweeted after the vote. "If the agreement we were able to finalize over the last few days is implemented, it will be the greatest change in how the House operates and becomes much more responsive to the American people in at least two generations."
Harris flipped his vote to McCarthy in the 13th round of voting Friday.
Rep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna (Florida)
Luna, who was first elected to represent the St. Petersburg area, issued a statement on Wednesday as the speaker's race dragged on into the second day: "I will stand strong until we get a speaker who will fight for the American people and fix the chaos and corruption in our nation's Capitol."
She told The New York Times that there were several members who felt "disrespected" after a meeting with McCarthy on Tuesday morning ahead of the first vote. She said the meeting "pushed them into a category that — I don't think they'll ever vote for him."
Luna switched her vote to McCarthy in the 12th round.
Rep. Mary Miller (Illinois)
Miller, who received Trump's backing, staved off a primary challenge from an incumbent Republican in June to continue to represent a heavily GOP district.
Miller switched her vote to McCarthy in the 12th round.
Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina)
Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told Politico in November that he's a hard "no" against McCarthy. Norman has criticized McCarthy's approach to the budget and national debt, suggesting the House minority leader doesn't have a sufficiently aggressive plan to straighten out the nation's fiscal affairs.
In 2021, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won the speakership with 216 votes after three Democrats voted "present."
Norman changed his vote to McCarthy in the 12th round.
Andy Ogles (Tennessee)
Ogles, who was first elected in November, previously told Politico that he backed McCarthy, saying the GOP leader "earned the right to lead the caucus — I'll be supporting him." McCarthy even campaigned with Ogles at an event with U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, according to the Tennessean.
But he joined Perry, Roy and seven others in signing a letter to McCarthy on Jan. 1 saying that supporting him would be "continuation of past and ongoing Republican failures."
On Wednesday night, Ogles posted on Facebook Trump's statement from Truth Social saying the fight is making Republicans stronger. "I'm honored to be one of the leaders making history and fighting to restore accountability in the US House of Representatives," Ogles wrote.
Ogles switched his vote to McCarthy on Friday in the 12th round.
Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania)
In a statement Tuesday morning, Perry indicated he would vote "no" on McCarthy. He referred to a group of nine Republicans who approached McCarthy with an offer to help him reach 218 votes with several conditions attached: a list of names of members to be assigned to certain committees, votes on a balanced budget, "Fair Tax Act, Texas GOP delegation border plan, and term limits for members, a two-thirds threshold for support on earmarks, guaranteed votes for any amendment to cut spending, and a demand that he end efforts to defeat conservative candidates in open GOP primaries.
On New Year's Day, the group of nine members issued a statement expressing dissatisfaction with McCarthy's response, saying that it was "missing specific commitments with respect to virtually every component of our entreaties."
"Kevin McCarthy had an opportunity to be Speaker of the House. He rejected it," Perry tweeted Tuesday.
Perry supported McCarthy on the 12th ballot.
Rep. Matt Rosendale (Montana)
Rosendale, who opposed McCarthy in the GOP conference vote, was continuing to criticize the Republican leader just before the vote. He retweeted Perry's tweet opposing McCarthy on the day of the vote, and in an interview Monday, he told Lou Dobbs on "The Great America Show" that McCarthy "doesn't believe in anything except the next rung on the ladder for himself and he makes whatever deal is necessary to climb up by using other people's money."
After the conference vote in November, Rosendale issued a statement after the conference vote accusing McCarthy of wanting "to maintain the status quo, which consolidates power into his hands and a small group of individuals he personally selects." He continued, "We need a leader who can stand up to a Democrat-controlled Senate and President Biden and unfortunately, that isn't Kevin McCarthy."
Rosendale changed his vote to "present" in the 15th round.
Rep. Chip Roy (Texas)
Roy tweeted as the second round of voting came to a close, "We're not going to back down until we get in a room and we decide how we'll be able to stand up and fight for the American people no matter who the speaker is."
He added, "I'm not blinking."
Roy voted for McCarthy on the 12th ballot.
Keith Self (Texas)
Self, who was first elected to represent North Texas in November, told Dallas' WFAA that "the majority of my constituents have voiced their concerns about one - the Speaker of the House, but even moreso they want change."
"As I saw the process develop, I realized some of the more moderate Republicans have made concessions – and that's their word not mine – concessions in order to get Kevin across the line," Self said. "I don't see them as actually believing in the rules. And if the majority of the majority doesn't believe in the rules we've established, I'm not certain they'll be enforced."
Self voted for McCarthy in the 12th round.
