McConnell says he’s ‘pulling’ for McCarthy to remain Speaker 

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) says he’s “pulling” for Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to keep his job as Speaker, something that is now in serious doubt.

“I’m pulling for him,” McConnell said when asked about McCarthy’s battle with about 10 House conservatives who want to boot him out of the leadership.  

The House is expected to vote on whether to oust McCarthy from his position Tuesday afternoon. Earlier in the day, 11 Republicans voted with Democrats against an effort to effectively kill Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) “motion to vacate.”

McConnell has repeatedly thrown his support behind McCarthy this year, even though they have split over major policy and political questions. 

McCarthy disappointed many senators this past weekend when he brought a stopgap funding bill to the House floor that did not include $6 billion for Ukraine. 

McConnell is one of Congress’s leading Republican advocates for supporting Ukraine’s war with Russia, but he said Saturday he would defer to the House on a bill to avoid a government shutdown.  

The Senate GOP leader told reporters after the midterm election that he wanted McCarthy to become Speaker, declaring in December: “Absolutely, I’m pulling for Kevin.”