Two years after a mob stormed the halls of Congress in a violent push to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, Kevin McCarthy walked into the Capitol Friday morning pledging to “progress” with his repeated failed attempts to secure enough votes to become Speaker of the House.
“We’re going to make progress,” he told reporters. “We’re going to shock you.”
Fifteen Republican members who had previously not supported the House Republican leader’s efforts to be named House Speaker flipped their vote on January 6, but the 12th round of votes was the number needed to secure the gavel to Mr. McCarthy. became less than
He entered the building on January 6 for the fourth straight day of efforts to gather enough votes from his Republican House colleagues, the longest speaker contest in 164 years, one short of the historic streak of failed votes.
His ongoing defeat – even as he offered hardline members even more concessions to win the speaker’s gavel, and as Donald Trump urged lawmakers to rally behind him – members and signaled a chaotic majority of incoming House Republicans in the newly formed Congress.
initial trade signals appeared on Thursday eveningBut even Mr McCarthy’s supporters doubted it would be enough to push him over the top, paralyzing the chamber and eliciting increasingly impatient statements from lawmakers.
“We’re making progress,” said newly elected Congressman Keith Self after he switched his vote to McCarthy on Friday.
Republican Representative Viktoria Spartz, who previously voted only “present” during speaker votes, also cast her vote for Mr. McCarthy during the 12th round.
But several holdouts remained, including far-right members Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.
Outline of an upcoming deal to secure the California Republican’s role as House speaker – a role formerly held by Democratic congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who recently concluded one of the longest speaker tenures in US history – after a dozen failed series of votes began to emerge. To introduce any speaker to the lower chamber of Congress.
But there appears to be no promise among Republicans that the upcoming vote will produce any positive results for McCarthy, continuing the fragile spectacle of American democracy in the grim shadow of the January 6 insurrection.
“Mr. McCarthy doesn’t have the votes today, he won’t have the votes tomorrow, next week or next year,” Gaetz told the House floor on Friday as he introduced Jim Jordan as a candidate.
He suggested that Mr. McCarthy was “exercising in arrogance” and said that there is “insufficient trust” among GOP lawmakers in the House Republican leader.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy enters the US Capitol on January 6 as lawmakers reconvene for a fourth day of voting for House Speaker.
(EPA)
A compromise reportedly under consideration would concede the so-called Freedom Caucus and far-right holdouts among others surrounding a change to rules that would reduce the power of the speaker’s office and allow rank-and-file members to draft and vote. Will give more influence in passing the law.
If Mr. McCarthy successfully garners more votes to become the new Speaker of the House of Representatives under such concessions, he could emerge as a vulnerable figure under threat of vilification from his party’s critics.
Democrats, meanwhile, remained united behind Hakeem Jeffries. The New York congressman came forward to defect GOP members rebelling from Mr. McCarthy’s clan. Were the other totals to remain unchanged, he would actually only need to pick up five votes to become president.
The Democratic leader continues a historic streak with the most votes on each ballot so far, but not enough to win a majority; He would need support from Republican members, equally opposed to nominating a Democratic member despite his party’s leadership and other Republican contenders – including Mr. Trump, who at one point was nominated by Mr. Gaetz – winning repeatedly. Failed to even come close to achieving .
The ballots have yielded roughly the same result each time, with 20 Republican holdouts refusing to endorse McCarthy, which falls short of the GOP’s new 222-seat majority by 218 votes needed. , so thin that GOP leaders can not afford to lose votes .
A standoff with the so-called “Taliban 20” on Mr. McCarthy’s far-right flank could result in agreements for more seats on the House Rules Committee and an attempt to impose federal term limits on the number of terms lawmakers can serve in Congress .
Mr Jeffries’ caucus has so far resisted any attempt by Mr McCarthy’s team to give members “present” votes, which would lower the threshold needed for his victory. They have not yet united behind any centrist Republican candidate, who could win their support over Mr. McCarthy, discussed earlier this week by Rep. Fred Upton and others as a possible means of freezing conservatives.
Holdouts, for their part, have predicted other defections from Mr. McCarthy’s camp or indicated that losing or switching votes could be imminent as the House enters its fourth day of voting for his leadership.
Congressman Bob Good said, “I think you’re going to continue to see a decline from the votes you get from Kevin McCarthy.” Independent on Thursday. “And so they are ready, increasingly ready, I believe, to look at other candidates as the reality unfolds.”
Additional reporting by John Bowden and Eric Garcia
This is a developing story