CAPITOL HILL – The last time a Speaker of the House vote went beyond the first round of voting happened in 1923. Now, exactly 100 years later, it has happened again as political chaos hit Capitol Hill on day one of the new Congress.
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) knew it would be an uphill battle. While the California Republican was never shy about wanting the Speaker’s gavel, he couldn’t lock up the required support from his own party even as Republicans took back control of the House chamber.
Rep. McCarthy failed to get enough votes through three rounds of Speaker voting on Tuesday before the House agreed to adjourn for the day.
“I have the record for the longest speech ever on the floor. I don’t have a problem getting a record for most votes for speaker, too,” he told reporters before the votes.
A formal challenge from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) took enough votes away from McCarthy to send the House into a second round of voting for the first time in a century.
Ohio Republican Jim Jordan urged his party to rally around McCarthy.
“My favorite scripture verse is 2 Timothy 4:7. Paul’s the old guy giving advice to the young guy and he says fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith. I like the verse because it’s a verse of action. Fight. Finish. Keep. Not wimpy words – words that I think fit America. That’s what the American people want us to do,” Jordan said on the House floor as he nominated McCarthy in round two.
Then another twist saw Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a member leading the charge against McCarthy, nominate Jordan for the speaker position.
“Sometimes we have to do jobs that we don’t really want to do. And sometimes we have to do jobs we are called to do. And so my colleagues, I rise to nominate the most talented, hardest-working member of the Republican conference who just gave a speech with more vision than we’ve ever heard from the alternative. I’m nominating Jim Jordan,” said Gaetz.
A second and third round loss for McCarthy followed with 20 of his fellow Republicans opting for other choices in round three. The standoff stems from some party members who believe McCarthy hasn’t done enough to shake up the D.C. status quo and want significant rules changes.
So far, even Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has received more votes than McCarthy.
“Matt Gaetz said ‘I don’t care if we go to plurality and we get Hakeem Jeffries and it hurts the new frontline members not to get re-elected. Well, that’s not about America, and I will always fight to put the American people first, not a few individuals that want something for themselves. So we may have a battle on the floor, but the battle is for the conference and the country, and that’s fine with me,” McCarthy said to reporters.
Democrats all backed Jeffries with 212 votes, which is also historically significant. He became the first black man ever nominated to be Speaker.
Now former President Donald Trump has come out backing McCarthy, and McCarthy says he still sees a path to victory. It’s complicated, but it might involve several disgruntled Republicans abstaining from the vote.
Voting is slated to continue Wednesday.
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