With Republicans reeling after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) abruptly dropped out of the race for House speaker Thursday, it suddenly seems that no one else — McCarthy was the favorite — will be able to secure enough votes for the job. While the House Freedom Caucus has endorsed Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), he does not have the 218 votes needed to be elected speaker.
That leaves few interesting options. As Charlie Dent (R-Penn.) told CNN's Dana Bash, Congress might be forced to "assemble a bipartisan coalition" to elect the next speaker of the House. While Bash seemed skeptical that Democrats would vote for a Republican, Dent suggested Paul Ryan might be the man for the job (too bad Ryan has already said he doesn't want the gig). Part of the problem, Dent added, is that the Republicans have been demanding unreasonable concessions. But as Bash later pointed out on air, "Someone has to be speaker." It very much remains to be seen just who that will be.