House Republicans are in an impasse about who will be the next speaker. Kevin McCarthy vows to continue his ever-dangerous attempt to win the gavel. The debate, which began with the opening day of the new 118th Congress is threatening to throw the current House GOP majority in turmoil and has stifled the agenda of the party.
The House will meet in the afternoon ET on Wednesday following three rounds of voting for the selection of a speaker Tuesday. The three times, McCarthy failed to win in failing to reach the required majority threshold for the speakership. The House was adjourned in early evening, after the debate dragged on for several hours, with no end at hand.
In the present, Republicans are scrambling to discover a solution. McCarthy’s allies claim that he’s not letting go and are still willing to continue to fight.
The talks continued on Tuesday night and evening, with McCarthy working in his office and making calls, sources told. McCarthy also sent a few agents to assist in finding an agreement with his enemies and to present their demands to his colleagues in the House GOP group.
The House could be forced to adjourn by noon, allowing the discussions continue throughout the remainder throughout the entire day as per an GOP source with knowledge of the subject. This decision hasn’t been decided. However, McCarthy can’t afford to lose further GOP vote on the 4th round His allies are worried that could cost him his presidential bid.
Rep. Patrick McHenry, the Rep. Patrick McHenry, a McCarthy emissary, offered a hint Tuesday night by telling CNN his opinion that waiting longer could be required.
There must have “a clear understanding” about what offers were presented prior to Tuesday’s meeting, in addition to “we have to have a wider group of members understand what the trade-offs are, what they look like and the opportunity for the conference to come to terms with getting the 20 on board,” McHenry stated in reference to the Republicans who have voted against McCarthy in the 3rd ballot on Tuesday.
“So this is a this is a longer process of negotiation than just a narrow group, talking to a person,” said the official.
The House remains stuck in this impasse until it is solved.
Opposition grew against McCarthy
The votes dragged over the course of Tuesday’s vote, the scenario was likely to get more difficult for McCarthy as the number of votes against the speaker’s bid increased.
The total for the first vote in the vote of the speaker was 203 for McCarthy and 19 Republicans casting votes for other candidates. The final tally of the second ballot included 203 votes for McCarthy and 19 for GOP Rep. Jim Jordan from Ohio. For the final phase of voting the total was 202 votes in favor of McCarthy as well as 20 votes in favor of Jordan and Rep. Byron Donalds joining 19 GOP lawmakers who had been against McCarthy in the previous two rounds.
“My vote yesterday was basically to break a deadlock, because we were deadlocked, and we were not getting anywhere,” Donalds, an incumbent Florida Republican was quoted as saying the following day during “CNN This Morning.” “Right now, (McCarthy) doesn’t have an avenue to reach that point. If the situation resurfaces, yes I’m there, but what’s needed right now is for Republicans unite and find the means to choose a speaker.”
Former president Donald Trump declined to issue an official statement on Monday, reiterating his backing of McCarthy for the position of House chairman, even despite an hidden effort by several of McCarthy’s friends to force Trump to sign the statement according to two sources who are familiar with the circumstances.
Trump has not changed his support of McCarthy but he might not but Trump is closely watching as the situation unfolds at Capitol Hill. His silence when McCarthy was facing three votes that failed was not ignored as Trump appeared to privately side with the hardliners in opposition to McCarthy in certain conversations on Tuesday according to one of the sources. It’s important to know that Trump called McCarthy on his behalf to the hardliners on Monday.
McCarthy’s inability to secure the required votes thus far has created uncertainty about the possibility of his winning or if a credible candidate emerges to replace him. The last time a vote for the speaker took multiple ballots in 1923.
The challenge for McCarthy is that he has to contend with an uninvolved, but small group of conservatives who have succeeded in denying McCarthy the votes needed to win the gavel. They’ve made use of the power they hold within the slim Republican majority to sway concessions. McCarthy has already agreed to some requirements, like the possibility of making it easier to overthrow the current speaker however, his efforts have not been sufficient.
The bargaining tactics McCarthy has been using efforts to win over his critics could mean that he is an uneasy hand when he is in a position to be viewed as an authority in the event that McCarthy is elected the speaker.
To be elected as speaker the candidate must be able to win the support of a majority of House members who support an individual in the House floor. This is equivalent to 218 votes if a member is absent or is “present.” House Republicans have 222 seats in the new Congress which means that to allow McCarthy to get to 218 votes, he’d be able to losing 4 GOP votes.
