'He doesn't have the votes': House GOPer serves notice to McCarthy he won't be elected speaker

According to one high-profile member of the Republican House Freedom Caucus, current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is getting ahead of himself by blanketing the conservative news outlets and boasting about what he plans to do when he is voted House speaker in January.

Speaking with MSNBC, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) claimed that McCarthy -- with an exceedingly slim GOP margin in the House predicted -- doesn't "have the votes" and is in "denial."

As MSNBC's Kyle Stewart and Scott Wong wrote, McCarthy needs 218 votes to take possession of the speaker's gavel from Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) but he is far from a lock for the job and it could require multiple ballots over weeks before a new speaker is finally voted in.

Writing McCarthy is "in a precarious position," they added, "In this game of chicken, if the conservatives don’t blink and McCarthy refuses to back down, it could result in a chaotic floor fight with House members taking multiple votes for speaker — something that has not happened in a century."

ALSO IN THE NEWS: They've 'just switched Trump off in their brain': Former adviser says situation has changed since the midterms

According to fellow GOP House member Biggs, McCarthy may have an uphill battle.

“He doesn’t have the votes,” Biggs bluntly stated. "Some of the stages of grief include denial, so there will be some denial and then there’ll be the stage of bargaining where people are trying to figure out … will there be some kind of consensus candidate that emerges.”

The report also notes that McCarthy is well aware of the battles former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) endured due to friction with the more conservative members of his caucus, with the MSNBC report noting, "In September 2015, Boehner announced his resignation, after a conservative rabble-rouser, Rep. Mark Meadows, filed a 'motion to vacate the chair' that would have forced yet another floor vote on the unpopular speaker."

You can read more here.