House GOP conference set to hold speaker candidate forum next Tuesday, possible vote on Wednesday

Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) told Just the News on Tuesday evening that the House GOP conference is holding a speaker candidate forum next Tuesday following California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy's ouster from the position.

The House GOP would then potentially hold a speaker election on Wednesday.

In total, 8 Republicans and every Democrat voted against McCarthy after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a motion to vacate on Tuesday. It passed 216-210.

Obernolte said there's "a lot of hostility" in the conference toward the 8 Republicans who backed ousting McCarthy and there's a "feeling that they're not really team players."

"We're going to have to rally as a conference," he said. "We're going to have a candidate forum on Tuesday night next week and then we'll have a conference meeting to decide on what to do next."

Obernolte said the Democrats sided with the 8 Republicans to take "pleasure in the misfortune of others."

"I think they just politically would rather see the Republican conference twist in the wind. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the best thing for the institution. At the end of the day, we're all on the same team as Americans and we've got a lot of work to do," he said.