WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will open the second day of the new Congress much like the first — with leader Kevin McCarthy trying to become House speaker despite losing in multiple rounds of voting that threw the new GOP majority into chaos.
It was the first time in 100 years that a nominee for House speaker could not take the gavel on the first vote, but McCarthy appeared undeterred. Instead, he vowed to fight to the finish, encouraged, he said, by former President Donald Trump to end the disarray and pull the Republican Party together.
The House is scheduled to convene Wednesday after the stalemate essentially forced all other business to a standstill, waiting on Republicans to elect a speaker.
“Today, is that the day I wanted to have? No,” McCarthy told reporters late Tuesday at the Capitol after a series of closed-door meetings.
McCarthy said Trump wants him to stay in the race and told him to bring an end to the House Republican chaos and pull the party together.
The former president “wants to see the Republicans united to be able to accomplish the exact things we said we'd do,” McCarthy said.
Asked if he would drop out, McCarthy said, “It’s not going to happen.”
It was a tumultuous start to the new Congress and pointed to difficulties ahead with Republicans now in control of the House.
Tensions flared among the new House majority as their campaign promises stalled out. Without a speaker, the House cannot fully form — swearing in its members, naming its committee chairmen, engaging in floor proceedings and launching investigations of the Biden administration. Lawmakers’ families had waited around, as what’s normally a festive day descended into chaos, with kids playing in the aisles or squirming in parents’ arms.
But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound to win over right-flank conservatives who reject his leadership. It typically takes a majority of the House to become speaker, 218 votes — though the threshold can drop if members are absent or merely vote present, an strategy McCarthy appeared to be considering.
McCarthy won no more than 203 votes in three rounds of voting, losing as many as 20 Republicans from his slim 222-seat majority. Three members of the Kansas delegation, Tracy Mann, Ron Estes and Jake LaTurner voted for McCarthy in each round. Kansas Democrat Rep. Sharice Davids voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Members of the Missouri delegation also voted along party lines for McCarthy and Jeffries.
Not since 1923 has a speaker's election gone to multiple ballots, and the longest and most grueling fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged out for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.
“Kevin McCarthy is not going to be a speaker,” declared Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., one of the holdouts.
A new generation of conservative Republicans, many aligned with Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda, want to upend business as usual in Washington, and were committed to stopping McCarthy’s rise without concessions to their priorities.
In many ways, the challenge from the far-right was reminiscent of the last time Republicans seized power in the House, when tea party Republicans brought hardball politics and shutdown government after winning control in the 2010 midterm elections.
As the spectacle of voting dragged on, McCarthy's backers implored the holdouts to fall in line for the California Republican.
“We all came here to get things done,” the second-ranking Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise, said in a speech nominating McCarthy for the vote and urging his colleagues to drop their protest.
Railing against Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda, Scalise, himself a possible GOP compromise choice, said, “We can't start fixing those problems until we elect Kevin McCarthy our next speaker.”
But the holdouts forced a third and final round of voting before Republican leaders quickly adjourned Tuesday evening.
"The American people are watching, and it's a good thing," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who nominated fellow conservative Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as an alternative for speaker.
Jordan, the McCarthy rival-turned-ally, was twice pushed forward by conservatives, but he does not seem to want the job. The Ohio Republican is line to become Judiciary Committee chairman, and he rose during the floor debate to urge his colleagues to instead vote for McCarthy.
“We have to rally around him, come together,” Jordan said.
In all, a core group of 19 Republicans — and then 20 — voted for someone other than McCarthy. The first ballot sent votes to Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jordan and others, while Jordan alone won the votes on the next two ballots.
The standoff over McCarthy has been building since Republicans appeared on track to win the House majority in the midterm elections in November. While the Senate remains in Democratic hands, barely, House Republicans are eager to confront Biden after two years of the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress. The conservative Freedom Caucus led the opposition to McCarthy, believing he’s neither conservative enough nor tough enough to battle Democrats.
To win support, McCarthy has already agreed to many of the demands of the Freedom Caucus, who have been agitating for rules changes and other concessions that give rank-and=file more influence in the legislative process. He has been here before, having bowed out of the speakers race in 2015 when he failed to win over conservatives.
Late Tuesday, pizza, Chick-fil-A and tacos were carried into various meeting rooms at the Capitol after the failed votes as McCarthy supporters and detractors hunkered down to figure out how to elect a speaker.
"Everything’s on the table," said McCarthy ally Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. — except, he said, having the leader step aside. “Not at all. That is not on the table.”
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus and a leader of Trump's effort to challenge the 2020 presidential election had said earlier it was up to McCarthy to meet their demands and change the dynamic.
Democrats enthusiastically nominated Jeffries, who is taking over as party leader, as their choice for speaker — a typically symbolic gesture for the minority but one that took on new importance with Republicans at odds with each other.
While Jeffries won the most votes overall, 212, it was not the majority to become speaker.
McCarthy focused on those numbers late Tuesday. If McCarthy could win 213 votes, and then persuade the remaining naysayers to simply vote present, he would be able to lower the threshold required under the rules to have the majority.
It's a strategy former House speakers, including outgoing Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Speaker John Boehner had used when they confronted opposition, winning the gavel with fewer than 218 votes.
Said McCarthy late Tuesday at the Capitol: “You get 213 votes, and the others don’t say another name, that’s how you can win.”
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Failing to elect party leader Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker of the House, Republicans adjourned in disarray Tuesday night, ending a raucous first day of the new Congress but hoping to somehow regroup on Wednesday from his historic defeat.
The abrupt end to a long, messy Day One showed there is no easy way ahead for McCarthy who promised to fight to the finish to claim the gavel despite opposition from the chamber's most conservative members. Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy got just 203 in two rounds — less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber — and fared even worse with 202 in round three.
Three members of the Kansas delegation, Tracy Mann, Ron Estes and Jake LaTurner voted for McCarthy in each round. Kansas Democrat Rep. Sharice Davids voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Members of the Missouri delegation also voted along party lines for McCarthy and Jeffries.
Tensions rose as night fell on the new House majority, and all other business came to a halt. The House agreed to return at noon Wednesday.
"Kevin McCarthy is not going to be a speaker," declared Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., among the holdouts.
McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it took to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound after becoming the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel with his party in the majority.
Without a speaker, the House cannot fully form — swearing in its members, naming its committee chairmen, engaging in floor proceedings and launching investigations of the Biden administration.
“We all came here to get things done,” said the second-ranking Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise, in a rousing speech urging his colleagues to drop their protest.
Railing against Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda, Scalise, himself a possible GOP compromise choice, said, “We can't start fixing those problems until we elect Kevin McCarthy our next speaker.”
It was a chaotic start to the new Congress and pointed to a difficult road ahead with Republicans now in control of the House. Lawmakers' families waited around, as what’s normally a festive day descended into chaos, kids playing in the aisles or squirming in parents' arms. A new generation of conservative Republicans, many aligned with Donald Trump's MAGA agenda, want to upend business as usual in Washington, and were committed to stop McCarthy's rise without concessions to their priorities.
"The American people are watching, and it's a good thing," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who nominated fellow conservative Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as an alternative for speaker.
It was the second time conservatives pushed forward a reluctant Jordan, the McCarthy rival-turned-ally, who earlier had risen to urge his colleagues, even those who backed him, to drop vote for McCarthy.
“We have to rally around him, come together” Jordan said.
In all, a core group of 19 Republicans — and then 20 — were voting for Jordan, denying McCarthy the majority he needs.
Smiling through it all, McCarthy appeared intent on simply trying to wear down his colleagues. Earlier, he strode into the chamber, posed for photos, and received a standing ovation from many on his side of the aisle. He was nominated by the third-ranking Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who said the Californian from gritty Bakersfield “has what it takes” to lead the House.
But a challenge was quickly raised by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a conservative former leader of the Freedom Caucus, who was nominated by a fellow conservative as speaker.
The mood was tense, at least on the Republican side, as lawmakers rose from their seats, in lengthy in-person voting. Democrats were upbeat as they cast their own historic votes for their leader, Rep. Jeffries of New York.
In the first-round tally, McCarthy won 203 votes, with 10 for Biggs and nine for other Republicans. In the second, it was 203 for McCarthy and 19 for Jordan. On the third vote, McCarthy had 202 to Jordan's 20. Democrat Jeffries had the most, 212 votes, but no nominee won a majority.
“The one thing that’s clear is he doesn’t have the votes,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told CNN before joining with those voting McCarthy. “At some point, as a conference, we’re gonna have to figure out who does.”
The standoff over McCarthy has been building since Republicans appeared on track to win the House majority in the midterm elections. in November A new generation of Trump-aligned Republicans led the opposition to McCarthy, believing he's neither conservative enough nor tough enough to battle Democrats.
While the Senate remains in Democratic hands, barely, House Republicans are eager to confront Biden after two years of the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.
After a private GOP morning meeting, a core group of conservatives led by the Freedom Caucus and aligned with Trump were furious, calling the meeting a “beat down” by McCarthy allies and remaining steadfast in their opposition to the GOP leader.
“There’s one person who could have changed all this,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus and a leader of Trump's effort to challenge the 2020 presidential election.
The group said McCarthy had refused the group's last-ditch demand for rules changes in a meeting late Monday at the Capitol.
“If you want to drain the swamp you can't put the biggest alligator in control of the exercise,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
McCarthy’s backers grew angry as well. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., a leader of a more pragmatic conservative group, said “frustration was rising” with the minority faction opposing McCarthy.
As the day began, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled closed the last session, moving aside for new House leadership in her Democratic Party, to a standing ovation from colleagues on her side of the aisle.
The chaplain opened with a prayer seeking to bring the 118th Congress to life.
Democrats enthusiastically nominated Jeffries, D-.N.Y., who is taking over as party leader, as their choice for speaker — a typically symbolic gesture for the minority but one that took on new importance with Republicans at odds with each other.
“A Latino is nominating in this chamber a Black man for our leader for the the first time in American history,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the third-ranking Democrat, in nominating his colleague.
But there was only negative history for the Republicans. as McCarthy fell short, even with an endorsement from former President Trump.
Next steps are uncertain. The second-ranking House Republican, Scalise of Louisiana, could be a next choice, a conservative widely liked by his colleagues and seen by some as a hero after surviving a gunshot wound suffered during a congressional baseball game practice in 2017.
A speaker's contest last went multiple rounds in 1923.
This year's Republican deadlock was in stark contrast to the other side of the Capitol, where Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell will officially become the chamber's longest-serving party leader in history. Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York will remain majority leader.
Despite being in the minority in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority, McConnell could prove to be a viable partner as Biden seeks bipartisan victories in the new era of divided government. The two men are expected to appear together later in the week in the GOP leader's home state of Kentucky to celebrate federal infrastructure investment in a vital bridge that connects Kentucky and Ohio.