McCarthy tells allies NOT to nominate him for speaker as Republicans remain split between candidates who will make their pitches tonight

The two declared candidates for Speaker of the House are making their final pitches for the post on Tuesday – after Kevin McCarthy discouraged allies from putting his name forward for the post.

McCarthy’s supporters wanted to nominate him again – but the former speaker told them not to after they sparked speculation on Monday that he wanted the post again in a round of media appearances.

A last-minute McCarthy nomination could further delay plans for a vote, as some loyalists would jump to support him and further split votes with Reps. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise.

The path to either Jordan, who chairs the powerful Judiciary Committee, or the number two House Republican, Majority Leader Scalise, is unclear even without McCarthy entering the race.

And without an elected Speaker of the House, the lower house cannot move on to other legislative priorities — namely passing spending legislation to avert a government shutdown next month and helping to replenish Israel’s defense capabilities amid attacks from Hamas.

Republicans will hear the final word from the two announced nominees for speaker on Tuesday before voting on Wednesday – but now face a wrench in the plans with allies of Kevin McCarthy gunning for his return.

Jordan and Scalise will address their colleagues at a candidate forum Tuesday afternoon before an internal vote Wednesday morning.

Republicans must first vote at their convention on a speaker nominee. Currently only a simple majority is required to become the GOP nominee.

But then this candidate must be elected on the floor of the Parliament. To win a majority on the House floor, Republicans can only afford four defectors, provided all Democrats vote against their nominee.

Some Republicans have insisted the entire conference go with an in-house candidate, before letting divisions play out in the House similar to the 15-ballot streak to get McCarthy the hammer in January.

They can also vote to change convention rules to require a unanimous vote before a nominee is elected to the House floor.

McCarthy had fueled speculation that he wanted his old job back by holding a press conference touting his foreign policy chops amid a war in Israel and appearing on various television networks.

McCarthy moved his belongings out of the speaker’s three-story office and into the Capitol hideout formerly occupied by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a source familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com – saying he had no plans to continue working in his office speaker. .

He repeatedly said it would depend on the conference whether he would be reinstated as speaker during a news conference where he touted his foreign policy experience amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“This is a decision for the conference. I will allow the convention to make any decision,” he told reporters of a possible speech nomination. “Whether I am speaker or not, I am a member of this body.

The path of either Representative Jim Jordan, who chairs the powerful Judiciary Committee, above, or the number two House Republican, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both candidates in the race, is also unclear.

DailyMail.com has learned that some supporters of Scalise, above, believe throwing McCarthy into the race is a tactic designed to get McCarthy’s former deputy out of the job

“Look, whatever the convention wants, I’ll do it,” he told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday morning.

“There are a lot of people who believe that Kevin McCarthy is the right person to lead us,” GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York told reporters Monday.

“Many people” < 218," he wrote in X. "The math is true." Time to move forward.'

McCarthy’s opponent, Nancy Mace, RSC., added: “It’s no wonder the people who vote for trillion dollar deficits, massive omnibus bills and CRs can’t count.”

California Republican John Duarte insisted that Democrats should allow McCarthy to be re-elected to the speech.

“What we do know is that there is no greater friend of Israel than Kevin McCarthy,” Duarte said.