McCarthy, House Minority Leader, Wins GOP Next Speaker of the House Race

Kevin McCarthy, U.S. House Republican Leader
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader of the U.S. Republican Party, was elected as the Republican candidate for Speaker of the House for the next Congress, which will convene in January next year.

According to CNN on the 15th (local time), in the Republican closed primary held that day, Majority Leader McCarthy comfortably defeated his competitor, Arizona Representative Andy Biggs, who received only 31 votes, by securing 188 votes.

As the Republican Party is expected to regain the majority status in the House, Majority Leader McCarthy is highly likely to become the Speaker of the House, the third-highest position in the U.S. power hierarchy, in the next Congress. CNN reported that although the Republicans are expected to win fewer than the initially anticipated 16 seats in the House, they are projected to defeat the Democrats by at least a margin of 3 seats.

To be elected Speaker of the House, Representative McCarthy must secure a majority of 218 votes from the entire House in a vote against the Democratic candidate at the House plenary session in January next year. CNN noted that Majority Leader McCarthy faces the challenge of absorbing dissenting votes within his party. Among the hardline conservatives in the Republican Party, known as the 'Freedom Caucus,' there is also opposition to Majority Leader McCarthy. NBC reported that Representative Biggs, who ran in the primary, is a symbolic figure put forward by the Freedom Caucus to demonstrate that McCarthy might not secure the 218 votes needed to be elected Speaker at the House plenary session next year.

The next Speaker of the House will be decided by a vote on January 3rd, when the next Congress convenes.

The Democratic Party, which is expected to become the minority in the House, will select its candidate for Speaker through an internal primary on the 30th. U.S. media predict that the candidate lineup will become clear once the future of current Speaker Nancy Pelosi is determined.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.