Nearly a third day has passed and the US Congress remains undecided on a speaker of the House, making Republican Kevin McCarthy’s now seventh-round loss for votes even more concerning.
Republicans remain unable to agree on the necessary votes to elect McCarthy or any other candidate. Democrats, on the other hand, have unanimously voted on New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. As Vox’s Ben Jacobs shares, there are four ways to settle the current stymied situation: McCarthy makes a concession or concedes, the stalemate continues, or Republicans and Democrats decide on a “unity candidate” — the last of which seems far from probable.
This is the first time in 100 years that Congress has required more than one ballot to elect a speaker. With McCarthy now losing his seventh ballot, more substantial issues could persist.
“The speakership chaos could well presage a catastrophic collapse of American governance over the debt ceiling and funding issues this year — or at least a very tense situation until a deal can be worked out,” writes Vox’s Andrew Prokop.
Thursday evening, McCarthy offered concessions that seem promising, but it’s unclear whether the Republicans who held their votes are genuinely considering any alternatives.
In an effort to gain influence on legislation and weaken the office of the speaker, a small group of far-right GOP House members are putting a wrench in their party’s ability to complete its first task as the newly GOP-led House.
McCarthy’s speaker chaos could make Democrats more powerful
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks on January 6, 2023, during a remembrance ceremony marking the anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Nathan Howard/Getty ImagesRep. Kevin McCarthy has become speaker of the House, but only did so by offering offered a series of concessions that effectively mean his speakership will consistently be under threat from his own caucus.
McCarthy’s agreement to weaken the role of the speaker is likely to lead to extreme gridlock within the ranks of the GOP. But it could also present an opening for Democrats. If far-right lawmakers in the GOP follow through on their promises to hold up pivotal spending and debt ceiling legislation, Republicans may well have to rely on Democrats’ help to get any bills across the finish line — a dynamic Democrats could capitalize on.
Read Article >How Kevin McCarthy (finally) became speaker of the House
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the House floor after a vote on January 6, 2023. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesCharlie Brown never kicked the football, Ralph Bellamy never got the girl, but early Saturday morning, Kevin McCarthy finally became speaker.
On the 15th ballot, a total not reached since before the Civil War, McCarthy finally got the absolute majority of votes necessary to be elected speaker of the House. By a vote of 216 to 212 for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) with six voting present, he finally won the longest speaker’s election since Rep. William Pennington (R-NJ) won after 44 ballots on the eve of the Civil War.
Read Article >Here’s how the Kevin McCarthy speaker debacle could actually end
House Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks to reporters as he leaves the House Chamber during the second day of elections for speaker of the House at the US Capitol Building on January 4. Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesAfter three days and 11 ballots, there is no speaker of the House and no prospect of one emerging anytime soon. On Thursday the House held five separate votes to select the next speaker and got the same result every time, and each time Republican Kevin McCarthy came up short.
All 212 Democrats supported Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), while 20 dissident Republicans cycled through an array of candidates including Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), and Donald Trump. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) simply voted present. McCarthy remained stuck at 200 or 201 votes depending on attendance. The House is scheduled to meet again at noon Eastern time on Friday after members adjourned for ongoing negotiations in hopes of finding a resolution. These are the four possible scenarios.
Read Article >What Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to right-wingers would mean for a functioning Congress
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy attends a House Republican Conference news conference. Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesContinuing his desperate quest to line up the votes to become speaker of the House after two days of falling short, Kevin McCarthy offered new concessions to rebellious Republicans Wednesday night — and by Thursday, it looked like those could produce a deal with some of them, according to Politico and The Washington Post.
Progress for McCarthy wasn’t showing in the vote tallies after the 11th failed speaker vote Thursday night. But some of the holdouts have spoken positively about the continuing talks, in what’s basically the first good news for McCarthy’s prospects all week. Though in continuing bad news, some other holdouts reiterated that they’ll never support him. McCarthy needs to win over 16 of the 20 rebel Republicans to be elected speaker, and it is unclear how many of the objectors are truly motivated by procedural complaints rather than a simple desire to derail the basic work of Congress.
Read Article >Kevin McCarthy’s once-in-a-century House speakership failure
Republican Kevin McCarthy speaks with members-elect in the House Chamber during the second day of elections for Speaker of the House on January 4. Win McNamee/Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, the House of Representatives met to elect a new speaker and begin the 118th Congress. But after five hours and three separate ballots, they adjourned without a speaker being chosen and with members not yet officially sworn in. Despite winning the majority of votes, Republican Kevin McCarthy was unable to muster the absolute majority constitutionally necessary to be elected speaker. It was the first time in a century that Congress required more than one ballot to elect a speaker, and left McCarthy facing a seventh ballot on Wednesday with little prospect of making headway.
The California Republican faced a rebellion from the hard-right members of his conference who made a series of interlocking demands that mixed the political, the procedural, and the personal. While Democrats held united and voted for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, Republican dissidents split their votes. Ten voted for Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who ran as a stalking horse opponent against McCarthy in an internal ballot of the GOP conference in November. Nine scattered their votes for candidates like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL).
Read Article >The real reason the chaos in the House should scare us
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is struggling to win the votes to become speaker of the House. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesDespite the chaos currently engulfing Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become speaker of the House, the chamber’s Republicans will probably, eventually end up united around a GOP speaker candidate.
After that is when things might get really scary.
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