GOP tension builds over House speaker race as McCarthy and critics prep for floor fight

From CNN | Politics by Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju, CNN

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and his critics are gearing up for a potential floor fight over the speakership in January, raising the possibility of a messy intraparty showdown that could bring uncertainty and chaos just as Republicans prepare to enter their new majority.

McCarthy still insists he will have the 218 votes needed to secure the speakership. Conservative hardliners seeking to plot McCarthy’s ouster say otherwise.

And what will happen if he can’t get 218 votes? No one knows.

McCarthy’s foes say another candidate will emerge and that talks have already begun to recruit a replacement.

Photo by Yuki Iwamura / Associated Press

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