Allies of Rep. Kevin McCarthy are digging in for the upcoming House Speaker’s vote, with dozens vowing that they will refuse to support any other candidate.

In a letter circulated Friday, the more than 70-member GOP House Main Street Caucus said they were prepared to “hold the line” on the California Republican, referring to McCarthy as the “Speaker-Designate.”

“McCarthy is best prepared to lead the 118th Congress, and we are prepared to vote for him for as long as it takes,” wrote Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), the caucus leaders.

[This is a faceplant by the GOP. They can’t move conservative bills into law in the upcoming session anyway, not with Democrats in control of the Senate and White House. In that sense, it doesn’t really matter who the Speaker is. All a Speaker needs to do in the next session is to ensure that committees investigate the Biden administration’s abuses and incompetence. McCarthy’s certainly capable of doing that much, and the rest of this is a distraction. — Ed]