9 hardline Republicans are withholding support for Kevin McCarthy's bid for Speaker of the House, demanding more concessions

Nine Republicans are pushing for more concessions from Kevin McCarthy before he has their votes — including making it easier to oust him.

• Kevin McCarthy's race to become House Speaker looks set to go down to the wire. 
• Several hardline GOP lawmakers are making further demands before McCarthy can secure their votes.
• Some want just a single lawmaker to be able to call for a vote to oust the Speaker.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy faces further hurdles from a group of nine hardline GOP figures who are withholding their support for his bid to become Speaker of the House, according to multiple reports. 

McCarthy spoke to the group in a conference call on Sunday, Politico and CNN reported. The House GOP then announced several concessions in a provisional rules package, per CNN.

However, the nine lawmakers said in a letter that "there continue to be missing commitments with respect to virtually every component of our entreaties, and no means to measure whether promises are kept or broken."

The letter was signed by Reps. Scott Perry, Paul Gosar, Dan Bishop, Chip Roy, Andy Harris, Andrew Clyde; and Reps.-elect Andy Ogles, Anna Paulina Luna, and Eli Crane.

Politico reporter Olivia Beaver tweeted the full text of the letter:

—Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) January 2, 2023

With the vote looming on Tuesday, it's unclear whether McCarthy has the support he needs — which has emboldened some lawmakers to seek considerable influence over the rules package that governs the position. 

Among the issues being thrashed out is the procedure for ousting a House Speaker, something that some conservative hardliners want to make far easier.

Currently, the threshold to force a floor vote on vacating the Speaker's chair is a party majority.

On Sunday's call, McCarthy agreed to set the threshold to five lawmakers, CNN reported. But some GOP hardliners want that figure to be as low as one person, CNN reported. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has long opposed McCarthy for Speaker, indicated he might waiver if McCarthy made a credible offer of a one-person threshold, CNN reported.

After a poorer-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterm elections, the Republican Party holds a thin majority in the House (222-213), giving each Republican lawmaker considerable influence.

Other concessions from McCarthy included a promise to make sure committees "closely reflect the ideological makeup of our conference," The Hill reported him as saying in a letter to GOP colleagues. 

McCarthy has also promised to set up a House Judiciary Select Subcommittee in order to scrutinize the "Weaponization of the Federal Government," The Hill reported, citing the GOP package.

The demand comes amid stated Republican concerns over the politicization of federal agencies and is expected to hone in on the Biden administration, The Hill reported.