GOP Congressman Ken Buck Tells CNN Live He Will No Longer Support McCarthy for Speaker: ‘Stay Tuned’

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) told CNN live on air on Wednesday that he will no longer support Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker.

Through five balloting rounds over Tuesday and Wednesday, McCarthy has been unable to get the 218 votes necessary to become Speaker. With just 222 GOP members in the House, McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republicans.

Here’s how the exchange between Buck and CNN anchor Jake Tapper went down:

BUCK: Kevin McCarthy, I think, will make the decision at some point and what’s going to happen and what should happen sooner rather than later, is some of the senior members, some the cardinals on appropriations and the committee chairman and some of the other folks who have been here a long time, have supported Kevin are going to have to have that private conversation with him that this doesn’t make sense and we need to move forward.

…

TAPPER: How many votes do you think is enough for the process to go on, assuming that Kevin McCarthy continues to lose votes which he has been in the last few votes. I mean, this is the fifth now. What is the maximum that you think is acceptable for a step to try and find somebody else that will get 217 or 218?

BUCK: So, if I knew that, I would be on a flight to Las Vegas and putting my money on the table. I have no idea. I think it’s in the next two or three votes, the nerves are frayed enough that people come together and make a decision.

When asked by Tapper if he’ll keep voting for McCarthy or switch his vote to Steve Scalise, who is set to be House Majority Leader, or vote “present,” Buck said, “So, I am voting on this vote for Kevin McCarthy, stay tuned and I’ll let you know what I’m going to be doing in the future.”

“All right,” replied Tapper. “So, this is the last time he could count on your vote, this ballot, the fifth one.”

Watch above via CNN.

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