Topline
The House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday evening without a speaker and no clear timeline for when one might be chosen after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed to secure the votes needed in the first three rounds of voting, with the number of Republican defectors slightly increasing as the fractious party struggles to choose a leader.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Key Facts
The House will reconvene ahead of a fourth vote at noon Wednesday, after McCarthy failed to get 218 votes needed to secure the role of speaker, marking a historic scenario that will send the election to subsequent ballots for the first time since 1923.
McCarthy secured 203 votes in both the first and second rounds, before falling to 202 votes on the third ballot.
Nineteen Republicans voted against McCarthy in the first two rounds, with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) becoming the 20th to oppose him in the third round, while 212 Democrats voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the incoming House minority leader.
The Republicans who dispersed their votes between five GOP candidates other than McCarthy in the first round of voting coalesced behind Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) in the second and third rounds; Jordan, meanwhile, nominated McCarthy for speaker in the second round and voted in his favor.
The five Republican House Freedom Caucus members known as the “Never Kevins”—Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Matt Rosendale (Mont.), Ralph Norman (S.C), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Bob Good (Va.)—who led the anti-McCarthy voices in the GOP conference in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election and vowed to vote as a bloc cast their ballots for Biggs during the first round of voting and Jordan in the second round.
McCarthy privately acknowledged he expected approximately 20 Republicans to vote against him, Politico reported, citing sources inside a closed-door meeting of the GOP conference held Tuesday morning before the election.
The election will move to subsequent rounds of voting until the winner meets secures 218 votes, a scenario that would likely end in McCarthy’s favor but one that hasn’t happened since 1923, kicking off McCarthy’s leadership tenure in an embarrassing fashion.
The Tuesday morning GOP conference meeting reportedly displayed stark divisions within the party: Conservative hardliners who have said McCarthy has not given into enough of Republicans’ demands for changes to House rules and moderates who warn that opposing McCarthy would be a blow to the GOP’s image and elevate Democrats’ standing in Congress.
Those backing McCarthy, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), reportedly joined him in attacking right-wing House Freedom Caucus members who have vowed to vote against him or expressed doubts about his leadership ability, Politico reported.
Crucial Quote
“I have the record for the longest speech on the floor. I don’t have a problem getting the record for the most votes to be elected speaker,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
Key Background
Prior to the midterm elections, McCarthy–who has climbed the ranks of Republican leadership during his 16 years in Congress–was seen as a shoe-in for the next speaker. But the party’s worst-than-expected showing left them with just a slim four-seat majority in the lower chamber, 222-213, and gave conservatives more leverage to negotiate demands for the conference in exchange for their support for McCarthy.
Tangent
Conservatives demanded a series of House rule changes from the incoming GOP leadership ahead of Tuesday’s election. Among them, they want more representation on committees and a special panel to take on various probes into the Biden Administration, including its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, border policies and federal law enforcement’s investigations into former President Donald Trump and the January 6 Capitol riots. Perhaps most notably, they also want to make it easier to eject the speaker by lowering the vote threshold for beginning the process, which is known as the “motion to vacate.” McCarthy, in his first formal response to the requests issued over the weekend, agreed to lower the threshold for forcing a vote from the majority of the conference (what’s currently required) to five members. He also agreed to form a House judiciary subcommittee to review “the Weaponization of the Federal Government,” including alleged abuses by the FBI and Justice Department.
Further Reading
McCarthy’s Speaker Bid: 1 Of These 5 ‘Never Kevin’ GOP Members Will Have To Cave For Him To Win (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/01/03/kevin-mccarthys-historic-loss-house-adjourns-after-he-fails-to-win-speaker-vote-after-3-rounds/