McCarthy Falls Short Again In Chaotic House Speaker Race—As Voting Stretches Past 11 Rounds For First Time In 163 Years

Topline

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed to win the House speaker election in an eleventh round of voting on Thursday, as a group of hard-right holdouts continued to prevent any candidate from securing a majority—marking the first time since 1860 the speaker race has surpassed nine rounds.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., walks to the chamber as he struggles with lawmakers in his own party … [+] to elect him as the speaker of the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Key Facts

McCarthy earned 200 votes in the eleventh round, unchanged from his tenth-round result, while 12 Republicans voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and seven GOP lawmakers voted for Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who backs McCarthy—leaving all of the GOP options short of the 218 needed to win.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) voted for former President Donald Trump, who supports McCarthy and has not shown any interest in serving as speaker, even though he is technically eligible.

A group of five “Never Kevin” GOP lawmakers previously agreed to vote as a bloc, but they have begun splitting their votes: Reps. Matt Rosendale (Mont.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Bob Good (Va.) voted for Hern in the eleventh round, while Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.) stuck with Donalds, and Gaetz oscillated between Hern and Trump on Thursday.

Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) again voted present in all five rounds Thursday after previously supporting McCarthy on Tuesday, and pro-McCarthy Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) did not vote in the three latest rounds.

All 212 Democrats continued to vote for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Surprising Fact

The speaker election last surpassed nine rounds in 1860, when Rep. William Pennington (R-N.J.) was elected after 44 rounds of voting during the 36th session of Congress. McCarthy previously made history on Tuesday when he became the first lead candidate since 1923 to fail to win on the first ballot. The record for most drawn-out House speaker election was set in 1856, at 133 rounds of voting.

Key Background

The House reconvened on Thursday for a seventh round of voting in the speaker election following six rounds in which the GOP failed to coalesce behind a single candidate. McCarthy began the day with 201 votes in support, 20 votes against him and one member voting present. The GOP’s slim 222-212 majority in the House means he can afford to lose just four votes in order to win the leadership role. The chaos has showcased the deep divisions within the party and foreshadowed what could be a contentious two years in the House under Republicans’ control.

Tangent

McCarthy on Wednesday reportedly agreed to a number of concessions demanded by holdouts in exchange for votes, including one that would severely curtail his power: lowering the vote threshold for the Republican conference to begin the process for ejecting the speaker to a single member, down from the majority currently required. McCarthy also reportedly agreed to install more hard-right House Freedom Caucus members on the rules committee, where they could make major changes to the budget approval process, including requiring individual votes on all 12 appropriations bills that make up the government’s annual funding package. In addition, McCarthy has reportedly agreed to allow a separate approval process for earmarks. Some of the holdouts, however, said Thursday that an agreement has yet to be made, with Rep. Scott Perry (R-Penn.) tweeting that the deal was leaked to the press: “A deal is NOT done. When confidences are betrayed and leaks are directed, it’s even more difficult to trust . . . I will not yield to the status quo,” he wrote.

Crucial Quote

“I believe the 20 members that have nominated an alternate candidate have expressed their concerns with leadership. And many of those concerns have been addressed and accepted by Leader McCarthy and this conference. I believe this battle we are raging must end,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Tx.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said as he nominated McCarthy ahead of the ninth round of voting.

Contra

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who has voted against McCarthy in all seven rounds of the speaker election, fired back at Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) after she tweeted Wednesday that the GOP was using Donalds as a “prop.” Bishop, calling Bush’s tweet “tired, old, grotesquely racist rhetoric” (both Bush and Donalds are Black) as he nominated Donalds for speaker during the seventh round, said “he ain’t no prop, and if he were a prop, he wouldn’t be sitting where he’s sitting.” Bishop also denied that he would resign if McCarthy is elected, despite telling Roll Call on Wednesday he’s “out” if the conference does not agree to “improvements” that would restore the power of rank-and-file members.