WASHINGTON – Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California on Wednesday won the votes he needed to be the speaker after three failed attempts to win the office, as Republicans began a second day of control. House of Representatives without leadership and deadlock on how to move forward amid far-right uprising tensions.
McCarthy’s consecutive defeats on Tuesday marked the first time in a century that the House of Representatives failed to elect a speaker on the first roll-call vote, and it was unclear how the deadlock would be resolved or when. After an abrupt pause on Tuesday without a leader, the House of Commons was reconvened at noon on Wednesday to try to resolve the impasse.
The Republican leader and his allies are working behind closed doors to try to win votes. Mr. McCarthy said he spoke with former President Donald J. Trump, who supported him but went silent on Tuesday during his humiliating defeat in the House of Representatives.
“Some really interesting conversations took place last night and now is the time for all of our GREAT Republicans to Vote for KEVIN,” Trump wrote in a social media post today. Wednesday. He begged Republicans not to “GET UP THE HUGE WIN into a HUGE AND HUGE Fail.”
“Kevin McCarthy will do a great job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – LOOK!” Mr. Trump added.
Now, a mutiny waged by ultra-conservative lawmakers who for weeks have staunchly vowed to oppose Mr. McCarthy has paralyzed the boardroom at the dawn of Republican rule, delaying the swearing-in of hundreds of members of Congress, stalling all legislative work and exposing deep divisions that threaten to leave the party’s House majority untenable.
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Mr. McCarthy has vowed not to back down until a speaker position is secured, raising the possibility that a tense vote could drag on for days.
“I’m going to stay until we win,” McCarthy told reporters between the second and third ballots on Tuesday. “I know the way.”
House precedent stipulates that members continue to vote until someone obtains the majority needed to prevail. But until Tuesday, the House of Representatives was unable to elect a speaker in its first roll call since 1923, when the election ran to nine votes.
It’s not clear how long Republicans may take to resolve their stalemate this time around, or if Mr McCarthy has any strategy in place to bounce back after a series of embarrassing denials. His supporters suggested that he was willing to prolong the process for a while, realizing that his political career was on the brink.
“I think Kevin knows this is his last shot, so he’s going to play this for as long as he can,” said Colorado Representative Ken Buck, who voted for Mr. McCarthy three times on Tuesday. , said. “He withdrew once so he had this opportunity. He won’t get this chance again.”
No viable opponent has emerged, but if Mr. McCarthy continues to flounder, Republicans could shift their votes to an alternative, such as his No. 2 candidate, Congressman Steve Louisiana Scalise.
On Tuesday, right-wing Republicans banded together to support Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a founding member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, as an alternative to Mr. , but Mr. Jordan, a rival once allied with Mr. McCarthy. , pleaded with his colleagues to unite instead of supporting the California Republican Party.
But the party has so far refused to do so. The failed votes on Tuesday publicly demonstrated the extent of opposition Mr McCarthy faced. With all members of the House present and voting, McCarthy needs 218 votes to become speaker, leaving little room for Republicans as the party controls just 222 seats.
He has failed time and time again, garnering no more than 203 votes – far below the majority and fewer votes received by Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the party’s leader. The caucus Democrat is still united behind his back.
Emily Cochrane and Annie Karni contribution report.
