dailymail.co.uk – By Elizabeth Elkind, U.S. Political Reporter and Morgan Phillips, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com and Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com – House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is ‘forging ahead and taking a stand,’ a senior GOP House source told DailyMail.com, after he was denied the House speakership after three votes Tuesday.
Ultimately, 20 rogue Republicans stood in McCarthy’s way – and there’s no sign they would be swayed overnight to back his bid, while their pick, Rep. Jim Jordan, has continually said he doesn’t want the gig.
McCarthy backers are mad, with Rep. Don Bacon dubbing the group the ‘Taliban 20’ and the ‘chaos caucus.’
Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of those 20 Republicans, expressed his own anger that McCarthy had already moved into the speaker’s office – sharing a letter he had written to the Architect of the Capitol ‘demanding answers.’
‘How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?’ Gaetz asked Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton.
The Democrats have no plans to budge, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries – the Democrats’ pick for House Speaker – indicating the party wouldn’t get behind a moderate ‘consensus candidate.’