Former President Donald Trump will not say whether he plans to stick with Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after the House GOP leader failed to reach the 218 votes threshold needed to become Speaker after three ballots.
“We’ll see what happens. We’ll see how it all works out,'” Trump told NBC News.
“I got everybody calling me wanting my support,” Trump said. “But let’s see what happens and we’ll go — I got everybody calling, wanting my support. That’s all I can say. But we’ll see what happens. We’ll see how it all works out.”
Trump publicly endorsed McCarthy for Speaker and has encouraged others to support him. However, with a very narrow 222-212 majority in the House, McCarthy can only lose four votes and so far, a small contingent of 19 far-right GOP lawmakers are refusing to support him and appears to be coalescing behind Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
After McCarthy failed to secured the 218 votes needed on the third ballot, the House adjourned until Wednesday at noon. It is the first time in 100 years that the speaker’s vote went to multiple ballots.
