First on CNN: McCarthy proposes key concessions after House adjourns for second day without electing speaker
CNN
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After suffering another bitter defeat on Wednesday, in which he lost in the sixth round of the House Speaker vote, Kevin McCarthy proposed more key concessions in a bid to win 218 votes. voting – including agreeing to a proposed rule change allowing only one member to participate. called for a vote to oust a sitting speaker, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The big concession comes as McCarthy is struggling to find a way forward with the House adjourning until 12 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The GOP majority House has been stuck in a controversial stalemate amid opposition to McCarthy from a group of conservatives. The war, which began on the first day of the 118th Congress, threw New House GOP majority in chaos and undercut the party agenda.
Home will continue to be paralyzed until this deadlock is resolved. The situation became critical for McCarthy’s political future as Republican allies began to fear that the Republican leader in the House might not live up to his gamble for the seat. fake if the war drags on any longer.
It’s not entirely clear whether McCarthy and his allies will be able to close the vote — and the longer the fight drags on, the more fraught with his bid to be a speaker. But there were signs on Wednesday that negotiations were progressing.
McCarthy’s latest concession will be a significant victory for hardline conservatives – after the California Republican Party proposed a five-member threshold, down from current conference rules that require half of the GOP to call for such a vote. But many more moderate members were concerned about making concessions to the far-right on the issue because it could undermine the role of speaker and cause chaos within the ranks.
In two more concessions, the sources said, he also agreed to allow more members of the Freedom Caucus to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee, which regulates how and whether bills can be put on the floor or not, and vote on several bills that are priorities for those who don’t, including a proposed term limit for members and a border security plan.
However, nothing is final as negotiations are ongoing. And Republican sources say that even if McCarthy’s offer is accepted, it won’t give him the 218 votes he needs to be the speaker. While these concessions may attract some new support, other opponents have raised various concerns that have yet to be fully addressed.
After a series of failed speaker votes earlier in the day, the House adjourned for several hours as Republicans continued negotiations.
Texas Congressman Chip Roy, one of the conservatives who voted against McCarthy’s bid to run for speaker, told GOP leaders he thinks he could get 10 supporters if the This ongoing negotiation is successful, according to GOP sources familiar with the internal discussions, and that additional detractors may be willing to vote “present.”
Sources said Wednesday’s talks between McCarthy’s allies and the holders were the most serious and productive to date. And in a sign of breakthrough, a McCarthy-linked super PAC has agreed not to contest the Republican primary’s open primaries in favor of safe seats – one of the major demands made by the Republicans. conservatives had requested it but McCarthy had objected to this point.
“We’ve had more discussions in the last two days as a body sitting there, than we’ve had in the last four years,” Roy said as he left the Capitol on Wednesday night. .
However, even if these negotiations prove successful and 10 lawmakers back McCarthy’s column – which is far from certain – that won’t help McCarthy win the 218 votes to win. speaker, so he still has a lot of work to do.
Tom Emmer said Wednesday night that the next speaker talks were “very, very constructive.”
“There are a lot of members who have been involved in this, and there are some who are now sitting down and talking about that discussion to see where they want to go next,” the Minnesota Republican said.
House Republicans hold 222 seats in the new Congress, so for McCarthy to gain 218 seats, he could only lose four Republican votes. His stumbling block is that he faces a small but determined group of hardline conservatives who have so far been successful in denying his vote to secure the race. hammer.
The group used the leverage they had in the razor-thin Republican majority to secure concessions. McCarthy has given in to some of their demands, including making it easier and easier to topple the sitting speaker, but so far his efforts have not been enough.
House convenes on Wednesday to continue voting after three rounds of voting on Tuesday. McCarthy failed every time, failing to reach the majority threshold needed to secure speaker rights.
As the votes drag on Tuesday, the situation looks set to get even worse for McCarthy, as the number of votes against his speaker bid grows.
The first total in the speaker’s vote was 203 for McCarthy, with 19 Republicans voting for other candidates. The total for the second ballot was 203 votes for McCarthy with 19 votes for Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio. In the third round of voting, there were 202 votes for McCarthy and 20 votes for Jordan, with Representative Byron Donalds joining 19 GOP lawmakers who voted against McCarthy in the first two rounds.
It was the first time a speaker election had so many votes since 1923.
“My vote yesterday was basically to break the deadlock, because we’re deadlocked and getting nowhere,” Donalds, a Florida Republican, said on Wednesday. “CNN This Morning.” “Right now, (McCarthy) there is no way to get there. If that happens again, yes, I can be there, that’s fine, but what is needed now is for Republicans to unite and find a way to elect a speaker.”
In the fourth round of voting, 20 Republicans banded together to vote for Donald as the group shifted their collective support from Jordan to Donald. Congressman Victoria Spartaz of Indiana voted in attendance, lowering McCarthy’s threshold to 217.
Spartaz told CNN she did so because she wanted to allow for more talks during the conference to address the 20 members’ concerns.
The final total for Thursday’s vote was again 201 votes for McCarthy, 20 votes for Donalds and one current vote.
The final result for Friday’s vote was the same: 201 for McCarthy, 20 for Donalds and one current vote.
Trump is closely watching the move unfolding on Capitol Hill and his public support is a key focus of McCarthy’s efforts.
Two GOP sources familiar with the matter said McCarthy’s allies panicked on Tuesday after the former president gave NBC News a lukewarm response to NBC News when asked about his support for McCarthy. The former president also declined to release a statement Monday reiterating his endorsement of McCarthy despite tacit efforts from some of McCarthy’s allies to get Trump to do so, two sources said.
A close ally of McCarthy then began working behind the scenes on the cleanup mission and began urging Trump to release a statement clarifying his support. McCarthy and Trump later connected by phone, and McCarthy said Trump expressed he remained committed to supporting him. Trump issued a strong endorsement of Truth Social on Wednesday morning, urging Republicans not to “Give Up A BIG WIN TO A HUGE AND HUGE Fail” and urged them to vote for McCarthy.
While Trump’s statement may be unshakable among McCarthy’s fiercest enemies, one of the sources said McCarthy’s world is worried about looking “weak” and like he’s lost. support, so they felt it was important to reverse the story.
Gaetz, one of the House Republicans opposing McCarthy’s bid to be a speaker, dismissed Trump’s latest attempt to help California Republicans as “sad.”
“This does not change my view of McCarthy, Trump, or my vote,” Gaetz said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, shortly after Trump defended McCarthy in the post. Truth Social.
Long a staunch Trump ally, Gaetz’s refusal to bow to Trump’s desire to be McCarthy’s speaker raises new questions about the former president’s dwindling influence over parties. Republican during his third presidential campaign.
“If Matt Gaetz ignores you, that’s not a good sign,” said a Trump ally who is involved in his 2024 campaign.
The person said Trump has made calls on McCarthy’s behalf in the past 24 hours to try to break the conservative blockade against him, the person said, but his efforts so far have failed have resulted.
A lawmaker who spoke to Trump late Tuesday suggested the former president should run for office on his own, according to a person briefed on the call. Trump refused and continued to push the man to support McCarthy, declaring that he would be a staunch supporter of “America First.”
This story and title has been updated with additional developments.
