NASHVILLE -- U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said Thursday he thinks Republican leader Kevin McCarthy can still find enough votes from a faction of hard-right GOP members to salvage his bid to become the House's new speaker.
"I think he will get there, yes sir. Right now, there is no nobody else," the Ooltewah Republican said in a phone interview with Cleveland-based Mix 104.1. "Let me be clear about this, we've had these discussions for over two months, close-door, open-door, very-candid discussions."
Fleischmann's comments came as McCarthy, a California Republican, seeks to find enough votes from among 19 to 20 ultra-conservatives -- including one each from Tennessee and Georgia -- who have opposed his candidacy.
Freedom Caucus members nominated veteran House Republican Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on the first two ballots Tuesday -- despite Jordan being an ally of McCarthy who wanted no part of that. On Wednesday they then nominated Republican Byron Donalds of Florida, who agreed to allow them to do so, failing there as well.
But they did succeed in one thing -- preventing McCarthy from achieving the 218 votes he needs to win in the closely divided House where Republicans have 222 members and Democrats, whose nominee is Hakeem Jeffries of New York, have 212 members. Votes were ongoing Thursday.
"I know these people," Fleischmann said of the candidates the House GOP's Freedom Caucus faction have already put up against McCarthy. "I've worked with these people every day. You got to get to 218, so far nobody has shown the ability to do that. We've seen votes where some of my friends have had their names put up, some with their permission, some not, OK?"
Fleischmann said Thursday his office is getting calls, saying, "'Hey, be sure to vote for so-and-so.' Well, we know that when that person's name is put up, they're not going to get more than three, four, 15, maybe 20 votes. And I respect that, but I think McCarthy will get there. Today will be the day that will be telling.
"If he does not, we will have to take a very introspective, a Republican look. I can assure you this, we will not get a Democratic speaker of the House. We've had four years of that, we've had four years of disaster," Fleischmann told 104.1 Mix, charging "the institution has been hurt by Nancy Pelosi," the just departed Democratic speaker.
U.S. Rep.-elect Andy Ogles of Columbia, Tennessee, a former Maury County mayor and one-time head of Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee who was elected to the House for the first time this year, and Andrew Clyde, a Gainesville, Georgia, businessman elected to a second term in November, both joined the group opposing McCarthy.
In 2017, Ogles weighed challenging then-U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, a Chattanooga Republican. Corker later opted not to run for re-election, and the seat was won by Republican Marsha Blackburn.
Other Tennessee Republicans joining Fleischmann in supporting McCarthy on the first six votes included U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Sherwood and Tim Burchett of Knoxville.
Earlier this week as the Freedom Caucus's rebellion continued, Rep. Steve Cohen, the lone Democratic congressman from Tennessee, tweeted a photo of actor Bill Murray from the movie "Groundhog Day," a film whose protagonist is trapped in a time loop where he lives the same day over and over.
"Another day of voting for Speaker and hoping to finally get started working for the people," Cohen wrote.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com.