Kevin McCarthy closes in humiliating all-time record as House chaos continues
Washington DC - Floundering House speaker hopeful Kevin McCarthy is one failed vote short of matching an all-time record after an 11th ballot still fell short of confirming him as Nancy Pelosi's successor.
The Republican California representative's failure to win a majority of floor votes on Thursday extended the saga, keeping the House paralyzed, delaying members' oaths of office, Republican committee assignments, congressional probes and hearings, a rules package, and passage of any legislation.
Until a speaker is elected by a majority of the chamber, the House can do little else beyond vote for a speaker or move to adjourn.
One additional option would be to move to require a plurality vote instead of a majority vote, but the divided Republican conference could end up handing the gavel to a Democrat in the GOP-controlled House. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has consistently led every ballot with 212 votes.
House Republicans have begun complaining about the real-world effects of the impasse, such as losing access to national security intelligence and being unable to help their constituents with casework.
The historic failure puts the 118th Congress on track to tie or exceed the number of ballots it took to elect a speaker in the 17th Congress, which required 12 ballots in 1821. The all-time record is 133 ballots in 1855-56.
As McCarthy toils, far-right Republicans put Trump's name forward
House Republicans could now see their speaker elected on the anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, and risk showing the nation that the party whose members amplified former president Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud two years ago is unable to govern with their new, narrow majority following the country's midterm elections in November.
McCarthy signaled to reporters ahead of the seventh ballot – the first of five votes Thursday - that he would again fall short because negotiations with some of his conservative antagonists were ongoing. But it remains unclear whether a deal would simply cut into his margins or put him over the top.
"There are only two outcomes here: Either Kevin McCarthy withdraws from the Speaker's race, or he has to wake up every morning and put on the world's best constructive straitjacket before the beginning of every House session," tweeted Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who cast three speaker votes for Trump, whom he also nominated on the 11th ballot.
McCarthy has yet to convert a single member to his side since the 118th Congress first convened Tuesday and began voting to elect a speaker. In fact, his total vote count has fallen from its height of 203 Tuesday to 200 by the ninth ballot Thursday, when one of his supporters began missing the roll call.
He remains 16 votes shy of being elected speaker. Several members of the so-called "Never Kevin" caucus – which includes Gaetz and Boebert – say they will never support McCarthy in a floor vote, calling into question whether he has a plausible path to the job at all.
Cover photo: REUTERS