Nine strikes yet? U.S. House remains paralyzed as no Speaker elected on 8th ballot
Republican holdouts continue to refuse to give Kevin McCarthy the votes he needs The Associated Press · Posted: Jan 05, 2023 1:56 PM ET | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
The chair of the Speaker of the U.S. House sits empty for a third straight day. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
With pressure mounting, the Speaker's chair of the U.S. House sat empty for a third day on Thursday, as Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed in yet another excruciating ballot to win enough votes from his party to seize the chamber's gavel.
One of McCarthy's steadfast critics, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, even cast his vote for Donald Trump, a symbolic gesture, but one that highlighted the former president's influence over the Republican Party.
But the final outcome on the seventh and eighth votes for Speaker turned out no differently than the others.
McCarthy emerged from a morning meeting with colleagues at the Capitol determined to persuade Republican holdouts to end the stalemate that has blighted the new Republican House majority.
Despite endless talks, signs of concessions and a public spectacle unlike any other in recent political memory, the path ahead remained highly uncertain. The day started as the other two have, with Republican allies nominating him again and again to be Speaker.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy sits inside the House chamber as an aide takes notes prior to the seventh round of voting for a new Speaker on the third day of the 118th Congress on Thursday. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Republican John James of Michigan put McCarthy's name up for the seventh vote, with a nod to history.
"My family's gone from being slaves to the floor of the United States House of Representatives" in five generations, said James, a newly elected lawmaker-to-be, who is Black.
He said that while the House Republicans were "stuck" at the moment, McCarthy, who has failed to seize a majority to become Speaker, would ultimately win.
Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New York was re-nominated by Democrats.
Republican Party holdouts again put forward the name of fellow Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, assuring the stalemate that increasingly carried undercurrents of race and politics would continue.
Donalds, who is Black, is seen as a future party leader and counterpoint to the Democratic leader, Jeffries, who is the first Black leader of a major political party in the U.S. Congress, on track himself to become Speaker some day.
"We could have elected the first Black Speaker of the United States House," said conservative Republican Dan Bishop of North Carolina, who re-nominated Donalds on Thursday.
Democrats jumped to their feet in applause, as Jeffries has, in fact, been closest to the gavel with the most votes on every ballot so far.
Incoming Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries was nominated by his party for a third straight day. Jeffries has won the plurality of votes on every ballot. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Bitter Republican Party feud
What started as a political novelty, the first time in 100 years a nominee had not won the gavel on the first vote, has devolved into a bitter Republican Party feud and deepening potential crisis.
McCarthy is under growing pressure from restless Republicans, and Democrats, to find the votes he needs or step aside, so the House can open fully and get on with the business of governing. His right-flank detractors appear intent on waiting him out, as long as it takes.
"We're having good discussions and I think everyone wants to find a solution," McCarthy told reporters shortly before the House was prepared to gavel into session again.
House Chaplain Margaret Kibben opened the day's session, perhaps the last of the week, calling on greater powers to "still the storms of dissent."
WATCH | Votes a sign of potentially difficult years ahead: Next few years 'not gonna be fun,' says U.S. political reporter 6 hours ago Duration 5:40
Even if Kevin McCarthy prevails in becoming U.S. House Speaker, the past few days have shown that the narrow majority held by Republicans can easily be disrupted by the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, says Ursula Perano, political reporter for The Daily Beast.
The House, which is one-half of Congress, is essentially at a standstill in a grueling spectacle for all the world to see. The ballots have produced almost the same outcome, 20 conservative holdouts still refusing to support McCarthy and leaving him far short of the 218 votes typically needed to win the gavel.
In fact, McCarthy saw his support slipping to 201, as one fellow Republican switched to vote simply "present."
'Frivolous' and 'disrespectful'
The House resumed at noon on Thursday and it could be a long day. The new Republican majority House was not expected to be in session on Friday, which is the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A prolonged and divisive Speaker's fight would almost certainly underscore the fragility of American democracy after the attempted insurrection two years ago.
"All who serve in the House share a responsibility to bring dignity to this body," California Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker, said in a tweet.
Pelosi also said the Republicans' "cavalier attitude in electing a Speaker is frivolous, disrespectful and unworthy of this institution. We must open the House and proceed with the people's work."
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz talks with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday. Gaetz voted for Donald Trump on the seventh ballot in a symbolic gesture, even though Trump has endorsed McCarthy. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
Some Republicans appear to be growing uneasy with the way House Republicans have taken charge after the midterm election only to see the chamber upended over the Speaker's race in their first days in the new majority.
Colorado Republican Ken Buck voted for McCarthy, but said Wednesday that he told him "he needs to figure out how to make a deal to move forward" or eventually step aside for someone else.
McCarthy has vowed to fight to the finish for the Speaker's job.
The right-flank conservatives, led by the Freedom Caucus and aligned with Trump, appeared emboldened by the standoff — even though Trump publicly backed McCarthy,
Holdouts seek to shrink Speaker power
To win support, McCarthy has already agreed to many of the demands of Freedom Caucus members, who have been agitating for rules changes and other concessions.
Mostly, the holdouts led by the Freedom Caucus are seeking ways to shrink the power of the Speaker's office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in the legislative process — with seats on key committees and the ability to draft and amend bills in a more free-for-all process. McCarthy conceded to some changes in a Rules package released over New Years weekend, but for some it didn't go far enough.
Those opposing McCarthy do not all have the same complaints, and he may never be able to win over some of them. A small core group of Republicans appear unwilling to ever vote for McCarthy.
"I'm ready to vote all night, all week, all month and never for that person," said Gaetz.
Not since 1923 had a Speaker's election gone to multiple ballots. The longest fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged on for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.
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