House Republicans Meet to Discuss Replacing Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy

House Republicans met Monday night to discuss the process of replacing former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted last week. The meeting was intended to be a free-for-all discussion, with no official policy decisions being made.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) met with the Republican Governance Group, a moderate group of members who had previously met with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) was seen leaving the meeting, and when asked about the goal of electing a speaker this week, he replied, “That’s the goal.”

Members exiting the meeting expressed a variety of opinions on how quickly they could select a speaker and who it might be. Some members were hopeful that the process could be completed this week, while others were more cautious and suggested that the process could take longer.

The House Republican Conference is set to hear presentations from speaker candidates on Tuesday. After that, the members will have to decide who to support and how to move forward with the process. It is unclear how quickly they will be able to come to a consensus, but it appears that they are committed to finding a replacement for McCarthy as soon as possible.