Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., raised eyebrows earlier this week when he did not reject the idea of running for his old job, but sources indicated to Fox News Digital that it\u2019s a long shot at best.<\/p>\n
It could result in a prolonged race to succeed him, with at least three GOP lawmakers vowing to vote for McCarthy in Wednesday morning\u2019s closed-door election to select House Republicans\u2019 next speaker candidate.<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t put a lot of stock in it,\u2019 a McCarthy ally told Fox News Digital. \u2018The conference has moved on. Time for a change.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018It might hold things up, but the next speaker will either be [Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio] or [Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.],\u2019 they added.<\/p>\n
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., one of those who spoke out in support of McCarthy at a members-only Monday night meeting, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he would vote for the ex-speaker again \u2014 and that several others felt the same.<\/p>\n
\u2018Unless Speaker McCarthy suggests otherwise, I intend on voting for [him] for Speaker of the House,\u2019 Gimenez said. \u2018Speaker McCarthy should have never been removed and a growing number of our Republican members agree and will be voting for Speaker McCarthy as well.\u2019<\/p>\n
Gimenez said McCarthy was a \u2018proven leader,\u2019 especially given the developing crisis in the Middle East as Israel wages war on Hamas after its militants slaughtered hundreds of Israeli civilians.<\/p>\n
Another of those McCarthy allies who spoke up for him on Monday night, Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., echoed those sentiments in a \u2018Fox & Friends\u2019 interview earlier that morning.<\/p>\n
\u2018There is no greater friend of Israel than Kevin McCarthy and, in terms of American government this last year, Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House, has been the adult in the room,\u2019 Duarte said. \u2018We need Kevin McCarthy back in the speakership right now. We need to get that vote done this week.\u2019<\/p>\n
But convincing the eight Republicans who voted with Democrats to remove McCarthy last week could prove an impossible task.<\/p>\n
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., one of those eight, told reporters on Monday that he could be open to Scalise or Jordan but definitively ruled out voting for McCarthy.<\/p>\n
\u2018Why would we? We\u2019ll have a speaker by Wednesday and honestly, what is Congress\u2019s role in all this in the Middle East? And you know, we\u2019re going to \u2014 [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has basically told America \u2018let us handle it,\u2019 and he\u2019ll handle it,\u2019 Burchett said.<\/p>\n
Scalise and Jordan are currently the only two formally declared candidates in the race. In the best case scenario, House Republicans choose a speaker on Wednesday morning and the House holds a floor vote later that day.<\/p>\n
But if they fail to choose a candidate, that House-wide vote could be delayed to Friday or even next week.<\/p>\n
A senior GOP aide told Fox News Digital that McCarthy\u2019s candidacy likely would not go far but has a good chance of delaying the race.<\/p>\n
\u2018It isn\u2019t viable and could draw out the process,\u2019 the senior GOP aide said. \u2018McCarthy can\u2019t get to 217 because the eight who voted against him have moved on, as have others in the conference. Most people are looking forward, not backward.\u2019<\/p>\n
Another Republican aide suggested McCarthy\u2019s initial base of support to retake the gavel will likely fade as the vote goes on.<\/p>\n
\u2018The people who are pushing him, I mean, they\u2019re gonna fall eventually in line with whoever has the most votes for speaker,\u2019 the second aide said. \u2018You know, at a certain point in time, everyone just wants to get on with the business of governing.\u2019<\/p>\n