Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), one of the 20 House Republicans who have been voting against Rep. Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House, said he expected to negotiate a written agreement between McCarthy and his opponents to be signed on Thursday evening, Punchbowl News reported.
Punchbowl News‘ Jake Sherman stated that an agreement between McCarthy and his adversaries “is close.” Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC) have reportedly been leading discussions with McCarthy’s side.
“All the big players” were at Rep. Tom Emmer's (R-MN) office, and as per Sherman, Rep. Norman “expects an offer in writing tonight.”
“Norman says there's an agreement in writing as he heads into Emmer's office,” John Bresnahan of Punchbowl News reported. “He's been asked to look at it.”
Norman “likes [the] deal so far but wants more,” Bloomberg‘s Erik Wasson reported, adding that Thursday's deal was just “round one.”
Wasson confirmed reports that the deal contains an agreement for standalone votes on the 12 annual appropriation bills. “Says approps will…come up under open rules,” Wasson tweeted. “No point of order against earmarks yet.”
The first reports of negotiations being discussed to ensure McCarthy's House speakership come after long days of talks, concessions, and a number of failed voting rounds.
On Thursday night, the House tried to select its next speaker for the 10th time, expecting the 11th vote to fail, too.
McCarthy has offered his conservative critics a number of concessions, which include, according to Breitbart:
- One member motion to vacate, instead of five.
- More House Freedom Caucus members on the House Rules Committee.
- Promises to hold votes on controversial term limits and border security bills.
The McCarthy-allied Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) and the conservative activist Club for Growth have also reached a deal that would stop CLF from participating in any open-seat primaries in secure Republican districts.
