US Congressmen to vote for new Speaker after McCarthy’s three unsuccessful votes

Republican Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the job was rarely opposed in a series of ballots, the day after he was thwarted by the most conservative members of his party.

Tuesday’s session was the first time in 100 years that neither Republicans nor Democrats won the House presidency in the first round to become Speaker of the 435-seat House.

McCarthy failed to win the presidency on three ballots, with 20 Republicans voting against him in the most recent ballot. On the fourth ballot, it was unclear whether enough of McCarthy’s opponents would abandon their opposition to him, or whether a new candidate would emerge.

Republicans maintain a narrow 222-212 majority in the House, and with one vacancy now, McCarthy, a 16-year California legislator, would need at least 218 votes to claim the presidency. I have. Under the terms of the U.S. Constitution, he would also be his second in line to the presidency of the United States.

But 19 Republicans, many of whom in recent weeks expressed the view that McCarthy was not conservative enough to lead the House Republicans, voted for other Republicans in the first round. . Opposition to Democratic President Joe Biden.

In the third round of voting, 20 dissident Republicans voted for Jordan, who nominated McCarthy as his choice to lead the Republican majority caucus in the new two-year House of Representatives. did.

Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York led the vote for the presidency, with all 212 Democrats voting for him, but he is unlikely to win because Republicans are not planning to vote for him. No gender. In the most recent poll, 202 Republicans voted for McCarthy, 16 short of the required 218 votes.

McCarthy, 57, is a staunch conservative himself and has been trying to lead the House for years. Over the past few weeks, he has repeatedly met with Republican opponents to secure their support for his bid for the presidency.

McCarthy proposed changing the House’s governing rules in several ways. Among them, he declared the presidency vacant and said that if he didn’t like his policy stance or how the party caucus was conducting a promised investigation into Biden and his administration, the other Including allowing snap voting to choose someone.

No matter who the Republicans ultimately choose, McCarthy or someone else will replace outgoing Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Democrats, who have been split 50-50 with Republicans in the Senate for the past two years, dominated the national congressional election almost two months ago and are set to maintain a 50-49 majority in the Senate. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Cinema has announced that she is currently an independent but does not intend to change her voting philosophy: She has typically voted for Democrats and Biden.

The election of the Speaker of the House takes place before any member of the House takes office for a two-year term. Lawmakers will call the name they choose for Speaker of the House from the floor of the House, and the same scenario will play out in the fourth round of voting, and likely beyond.