Boehner To Vote For McCarthy For Speaker Nom And In Later House Vote

A spokeswoman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) confirmed to the Washington Post that Boehner will vote for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as his replacement, and will do so in both Thursday’s closed-door GOP meeting and the full House vote Oct. 29.

While Boehner has publicly signaled his preference for McCarthy over the other two candidates — Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) — casting a floor vote is a rarity for House speakers, the Post notes, and typically reserved for close contests.

McCarthy is the favorite for Thursday’s Republican conference selection. However, Boehner’s vote could play a key role if the House Freedom Caucus — which has endorsed Webster in Thursday’s conference — continues to resist McCarthy as the speaker in the Oct. 29 vote, where the full House will be voting. According to the Post, if all members are present and voting, the GOP speaker nominee would have a 29-vote cushion among Republicans.