Maryland’s Harris ends opposition, switches vote to McCarthy

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s lone Republican in Congress, ended his opposition to the candidacy of Rep. Kevin McCarthy to be Speaker of the House of Representatives Friday afternoon. But other members of the House Freedom Caucus again denied McCarthy the post on the 13th ballot, though they apparently gained concessions that would give them more power and weaken the Speaker.

Another floor vote was expected Friday night, and McCarthy told reporters he expected to prevail.

“Washington and Congress are broken,” Harris tweeted shortly after he moved to the McCarthy side. “If the agreement we were able to finalize over the last few days is implemented, it will be the greatest change in how the House operates and becomes much more responsive to the American people in a least two generations.”

The concessions McCarthy made to the holdouts from the Freedom Caucus — the farthest-right voting bloc in the House — and others center around rule changes they have been seeking for months. McCarthy agreed to the reinstatement of a longstanding House rule that would allow any single member to call a vote to oust him from office. The changes would shrink the power of the speaker’s office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in drafting and passing legislation.

Even if McCarthy is able to secure the votes he needs, he will emerge as a weakened speaker, having given away some powers, leaving him constantly under threat of being voted out by his detractors. But he would also be potentially emboldened as a survivor of one of the more brutal fights for the gavel in U.S. history.

Harris had been one of 20 conservative Republicans who voted to deny McCarthy the speakership, leaving the body unable to pass bills or swear in members.

In earlier rounds, Harris had voted for fellow Freedom Caucus member Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican representative. Harris and Jordan have been congressional allies and supporters of former President Donald Trump, and

Jordan’s campaign contributed $4,000 to Harris’ successful 2022 reelection effort, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Harris was elected in November to a seventh, two-year term representing the 1st District of Harford County and the Eastern Shore.