Note: This article may contain commentary reflecting the author's opinion.
Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has failed in his first-round vote to become Speaker of The U.S. House of Representatives. Nineteen dissenting House Republicans have forced the vote to move to a second round for the first time since 1923 according to a report from Fox News.
The election for Speaker resulted in no one reaching the required 218 votes to form a working majority. According to Fox News, the vote was split between Republicans McCarthy, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Jim Banks of Indiana, Byron Donalds of Florida, Lee Zeldin, and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
The Democrat leader Rep. Jeffries took the most votes with 212 of 434, only six short of the majority required while McCarthy received 203, Biggs took 10, Jordan received six, and Donalds, Banks, and Zeldin each received one vote.
The New York Times‘ Emily Cochrane reported that McCarthy refused to concede an unknown number of demands from more conservative Republicans. Among the demands were:
- The Holman rule, which if enabled would allow the House to use spending bills to “defund specific programs and fire federal officials or reduce their pay.”
- A commitment to holding votes on bills backed by the more conservative members such as:
- Congressional term limits
- A balanced federal budget
- Increasing border security
- A new requirement for a two-thirds vote on any earmark spending.
Rep. Jordan has taken the podium and as of this writing is making a speech against voting for McCarthy. Rep. Lauren Boebert tweeted, “Jim Jordan is making a compelling case to be Speaker.”
Rep. Jordan was subsequently nominated to become Speaker by Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida.
“Maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the House isn’t someone who wants it so bad,” Gaetz told the House. “Maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the House isn’t someone who has sold shares of himself for more than a decade to get it.”
“Maybe Jim Jordan is the right person for speaker of the House because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interests who have corrupted this place and corrupted this nation under the leadership of both Republicans and Democrats,” Gaetz said.
With the speakership up for grabs, it is anyone’s guess as to how the second ballot vote will go. In order for McCarthy to maintain his position as leader of the Republican caucus, he will likely have to give in to some demands from members of the House Freedom Caucus.
Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has failed in his first-round vote to become Speaker of The U.S. House of Representatives. Nineteen dissenting House Republicans have forced the vote to move to a second round for the first time since 1923 according to a report from Fox News.
The election for Speaker resulted in no one reaching the required 218 votes to form a working majority. According to Fox News, the vote was split between Republicans McCarthy, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Jim Banks of Indiana, Byron Donalds of Florida, Lee Zeldin, and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
The Democrat leader Rep. Jeffries took the most votes with 212 of 434, only six short of the majority required while McCarthy received 203, Biggs took 10, Jordan received six, and Donalds, Banks, and Zeldin each received one vote.
The New York Times‘ Emily Cochrane reported that McCarthy refused to concede an unknown number of demands from more conservative Republicans. Among the demands were:
Rep. Jordan has taken the podium and as of this writing is making a speech against voting for McCarthy. Rep. Lauren Boebert tweeted, “Jim Jordan is making a compelling case to be Speaker.”
Rep. Jordan was subsequently nominated to become Speaker by Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida.
“Maybe Jim Jordan is the right person for speaker of the House because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interests who have corrupted this place and corrupted this nation under the leadership of both Republicans and Democrats,” Gaetz said.
With the speakership up for grabs, it is anyone’s guess as to how the second ballot vote will go. In order for McCarthy to maintain his position as leader of the Republican caucus, he will likely have to give in to some demands from members of the House Freedom Caucus.