Deal 'in Writing' for Some GOP Holdouts to Back McCarthy

Still needing to bridge around 17-18 votes, a deal is reported "in writing" for a large portion of GOP holdouts to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker.

Multiple outlets reported on the deal being reviewed by incoming House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., including the New York Post, Reuters, and Punchbowl News.

The news comes one day after Newsmax reported on a oral agreement in the works that would potentially move 10 votes to supporting McCarthy as speaker. That deal did not move the needle Thursday, which went through 11 votes seeing around 20 holdouts blocking McCarthy as speaker.

McCarthy needed 218 votes for a House majority with a full chamber. The Post is now also reporting Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., is needing to be excused for a doctor's appointment, leaving McCarthy at 200 votes Friday.

During the House GOP conference call Friday morning, reports from Jake Sherman of Punchbolw News and others citing sources emerged saying McCarthy insisted that there was no full deal in place.

Some of the staunch holdouts are working the deal currently in Emmer's office. Holdouts Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, are working with McCarthy-backing Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., according to the reports.

Another key holdout, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., appeared receptive to the proposed package, tweeting an adage from Ronald Reagan, "Trust but verify."

The House resumes Friday at noon for what could be a 12th vote, the most votes that have been required to elect a speaker since 1855.

"We've got some progress going on," McCarthy said late Thursday, brushing back questions about the lengthy, messy process. "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."

The agreement McCarthy presented to the holdouts from the conservative Freedom Caucus and others centers around rules changes they have been seeking for months. Those changes would shrink the power of the speaker's office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in drafting and passing legislation.

At the core of the emerging deal is the reinstatement of a House rule that would allow a single lawmaker to make a motion to "vacate the chair," essentially calling a vote to oust the speaker. McCarthy had resisted allowing it, hoping to keep the power put in place by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Other wins for the holdouts include provisions in the proposed deal to expand the number of seats available on the House Rules Committee, to mandate 72 hours for bills to be posted before votes and to promise to try for a constitutional amendment that would impose federal limits on the number of terms a person could serve in the House and Senate.

It could be the makings of a deal to end a standoff that has left the House unable to fully function. Members have not been sworn in and almost no other business can happen. A memo sent out by the House's chief administrative officer Thursday evening said committees "shall only carry-out core Constitutional responsibilities." Payroll cannot be processed if the House is not functioning by Jan. 13.

One McCarthy critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, cast votes for Trump. Then he went further, formally nominating the former president to be House speaker on the 11th ballot.

This is the first time since 1923 a nominee had not won the gavel on the first vote.

The longest fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged on for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.