McCarthy's opponents 'smell blood' after his speaker vote flop: CNN reporter

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was dealt a major setback on Tuesday when he lost the first vote in his quest to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a Republican source told CNN's Jamie Gangel that they don't see how he recovers.

In analyzing the first vote, in which Rep. Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY) actually wound up with more total votes than McCarthy did, Gangel said that McCarthy's allies are at a loss as to how he gets out of the current situation.

"I was just hearing from a Republican member of Congress who again has been trying to negotiate behind the scenes," she told host Jake Tapper. "The member says to me, 'I just don't know how he gets there. They' -- meaning the Freedom Caucus, the opponents -- quote, 'smell blood. He gave in to demand after demand. None of it was enough.' I said, 'What happens next?' The person said, 'Who knows?'"

Gangel also relayed a quote from a separate GOP operative who sarcastically said, "Welcome to Day One of the GOP majority."

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CNN analyst John King also pointed out that many House Republicans could take an even more outlandish action against McCarthy and vote "present" in the next round of voting, which could in theory make Hakeem Jefferies the House Speaker, at least temporarily.

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