“We need to call this off. The numbers just aren't there,” Eric told him through the phone.
“What do you mean?” Kevin asked back. He was standing on the steps of the Capitol building taking in the fresh air before he was to leave back for California.
“Amash says he can deliver about 90 people with his caucus lobbying and calling in favors, and between you, me, Paul, and Cathy, we can deliver about thirty or forty more,” Eric told him, “That's a very shaky half of the Republican caucus, Kevin. Even if we get more defections during the voting, well... If it was more people and more certain, I'd say we go through with it, but we're still about a hundred people away from getting anywhere.”
As Kevin took this in, he saw an old friend of his off in the distance, but headed towards the Capitol.
Maybe. Just Maybe. “Eric, I have an idea,” he said into his phone.
“You sound very sure of yourself,” Eric chuckled nervously, “What have you got, Kevin?”
“Hoyer and Pelosi,” Kevin told him.
“What about them?”
“We can't win on the first ballot. But if we get Hoyer and Pelosi to vote for us on the first ballot, then we should be able to garner plenty of defections on the second ballot from the Democrats!”
“Kevin,” Eric said plainly. Kevin could tell his friend was in shock. “You have literally gone insane.”
“You have thirty seconds to tell me if I should try it. I see Steny now.”
There was a pause on the other end of the phone.
“Eric?”
“Fine, do it,” Eric said. Kevin quickly hung up the phone.
“Kevin!” Hoyer said, coming up to his friend and fellow Whip.
“Steny, how are you doing? And Merry Christmas, by the way!”
“Merry Christmas to you, too! I'm fine, how are you?”
“Busy,” Kevin told him, getting down to business. “Steny, I need a favor. It's a big one.”
His friend looked at him strangely. “What?”
“We're trying to get rid of Boehner.”
“We?”
“The Illuminati,” he joked, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had appeared quickly around them. “I can't tell you who, but come January 3rd, we're trying to put in Cantor as Speaker.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“You and Nancy vote for Eric,” he told him. “No one will win on the first ballot, and on the second, you two should encourage the Democrats to vote for Cantor.”
Steny looked at him in shock. “That's never been done before,” was all he could manage.
“The country hates Boehner, especially with that CRomnibus shit he pulled. A bipartisan effort to sack him? That's something both of us can tout to the public.”
“I know Spacey talked to you to help develop his role, but I think you've gotten way to into
House of Cards. What do we get in return?”
Kevin paused, thinking.
I don't have to tell him the whole plan, do I? “Ask me after – once I've become Majority Leader,” he told him.
Steny considered the proposition for a moment before speaking, “I can promise you my vote, but Nancy is only a maybe.”
“I need more than that,” Kevin told him bluntly.
“Don't try to whip me, Kevin,” the two laughed.
“Just negotiating. I can't promise you anything if we don't make Cantor the Speaker,” he said with a smile.
“I'll see what I can do, Kevin. If you would excuse me, I have to run into my office for something,” Steny said, holding his hand out to shake Kevin's.
“Thank you so much. And Merry Christmas again, Steny!”
“And a Happy New Year, to you!”
As Kevin walked away from the Capitol building, he pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text to Eric:
We're still on.
Time to make some history.