Update (1455ET): Kevin McCarthy has lost the second tally for Speaker of the House.
McCarthy Fails Again In Second Ballot pic.twitter.com/ElBa7bLjM6
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) January 3, 2023
Of note, when this happened in 1923, it went to nine ballots.
And look who’s gaining steam…
The 19 who voted for Jordan on second ballot
Andy Ogles
Lauren Boebert
Michael Cloud
Anna Paulina Luna
Mary Miller
Keith Self
Andy Biggs
Dan Bishop
Andrew Clyde
Phil Crane
Matt Gaetz
Bob Good
Paul Gosar
Andy Harris
Josh Brecheen
Ralph Norman
Scott Perry
Matt Rosendale
Chip Roy— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 3, 2023
Cc: MTG pic.twitter.com/4nyf2M6Sml
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) January 3, 2023
* * *
Update (1310ET): Not even a quarter of the way through roll call, and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has failed to secure enough votes to become Speaker of the House – which will push the contest into a multiple-ballot vote.
MCCARTHY NO VOTES:
Biggs — Biggs
Bishop — Biggs
Boebert — Jordan
Breechen — Banks
Cloud — Jordan
Clyde — Biggs
Crane — Biggs— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) January 3, 2023
BREAKING: Rep. Kevin McCarthy appears to lose first ballot for House speaker.
Watch live: https://t.co/MPjgQRmzjX pic.twitter.com/wOrUCWbmzc
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 3, 2023
According to the Washington Post‘s Paul Kane, the last time this happened was 1923.
We are into uncharted territory: No one in House chamber right now has ever been alive for a multiple-ballot vote for House speaker, let alone seen one in person.
With 7 votes from Rs for someone other than McCarthy, we are certain to head to a 2nd ballot.
Last one: 1923.— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) January 3, 2023
What’s next? As Politico reports:
After McCarthy fails to get 218 votes on the first ballot, the Freedom Caucus antagonists have signaled that they will start backing another yet-unnamed candidate on the second ballot. The Daily Beast reported Monday night that that person is Ohio Rep. JIM JORDAN, the longtime McCarthy critic-turned-ally.
The Ohio Republican, however, has no shot at being speaker — something that his adoring conservative colleagues know very well. But, per the Daily Beast story, that’s not the point: They’re hoping to peel off more Republicans to back Jordan, aiming to have McCarthy’s vote count decrease from the first ballot to the second.
It’s an open question how long today will go until someone nominates a viable candidate for the gavel — someone like STEVE SCALISE (R-La.) or PATRICK McHENRY (R-N.C.). And there’s a fear that if one of these member’s names is called too early in the process, the conference will turn on them.
Buckle up. It’s going to be a long day.
Hakeem Jeffries will likely win the plurality vote, but you need a majority vote to be the speaker. So they will just keep voting until someone gets a majority. In 1855 that took 2 months. #mccarthy #118thCongress #Speaker
— Ben Sheehan (@ThatBenSheehan) January 3, 2023
McCarthy’s loss on the first vote is a terrible day for mediocre Americans. Millions of Americans are mediocre, and they deserve representation too.
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) January 3, 2023
* * *
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gave a Tuesday morning speech imploring fellow Republicans to elect him as Speaker of the House, as several notable members of the GOP have openly opposed McCarthy.
According to Axios, McCarthy has given hardliners nearly everything they’ve asked for, however he still hasn’t secured enough votes for the position, meaning that for the first time in 100 years, the House will likely hold multiple ballots for the speaker.
In his Tuesday speech, McCarthy listed all the concessions he’s made to the right, and pointed out that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) praised elements of his rules package. Gaetz, notably, has spearheaded the anti-McCarthy movement within the chamber.
Gaetz, of course, has been rallying support against McCarthy. https://t.co/JcxS2Wx5sU
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 3, 2023
“I’ve earned this job,” said McCarthy, after running through everything he’s done to become speaker – to which Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) reportedly shook his head, according to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman.
“This is bullshit,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) in response to McCarthy’s speech.
.@mkraju just dropped a “bullshit” on CNN pic.twitter.com/53xj9p4VCE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 3, 2023
In December, Gaetz said he wouldn’t vote for McCarthy because he’s “just a shill of the establishment.”
I’m not voting for Kevin McCarthy for Speaker because he’s just a shill of The Establishment.
The reason most of my Republican colleagues are supporting him is because they benefit from the redistribution of lobbyist & special interest money from McCarthy to their campaigns. pic.twitter.com/bdJmjwy6W7
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) December 27, 2022
McCarthy also got into an argument with Rep. Perry, who accused McCarthy of having no track record on spending bills.
Perry & McCarthy got in a heated back and forth, even raising their voices-
Perry accused McCarthy of not having a track record on spending bills “You have no track record.”
McCarthy asked Perry what he is still fighting for
— Annie Grayer (@AnnieGrayerCNN) January 3, 2023
McCarthy’s supporters chime in:
In addition to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), McCarthy has the support of neocon Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), who has called McCarthy’s detractors “enemies” and “narcissists.”
“They are enemies now. They have made it clear that they prefer a Democrat agenda than a Republican,” Crenshaw told CNN‘s Manu Raju.
“This handful of members is very clearly looking for notoriety over principle. That’s what it is. And anyone who suggests differently is in some kind of make believe fantasy reality. It’s not, it’s not true,” he continued, adding “They lost those debates.”
“That should have been the end of it because that’s how a team works, right? But if you’re a narcissist, … then you’ll keep going. And you’ll threaten to tear down the team for the benefit of the Democrats just because of your own sense of self importance.”
“We will not vote for anyone else but McCarthy,” Crenshaw said. “These people think they’re stubborn, we’re more stubborn.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 3, 2023
Another McCarthy supporter, Mike Rogers (R-AL), said the GOP should bar McCarthy dissenters from getting committee slots – an idea Chip Roy didn’t like.
CHIP ROY and MCCARTHY just got into it. @chiproytx Roy said he tried to negotiate on rules. McCarthy thanked him for handling it respectfully and said Roy should say yes more.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 3, 2023
Here’s Roy in December explaining the situation;
According to Axios, this could become a war of attrition in which “[a] good number of pro-McCarthy House Republicans are hoping some of the holdouts are bluffing and looking for a show — and will ultimately get worn down enough during the process to cave for McCarthy.”
Do you remember who made a formal nomination speech in support of KEVIN McCARTHY to be SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE on January 3, 2019?
*****It was your new best friend LIZ CHENEY*****
And now you know why Kevin McCarthy did not get a criminal referral to DOJ from the @January6thCmte!! pic.twitter.com/vhYmQEoWLV
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) January 3, 2023
The likely candidate to replace McCarthy, in the unlikely event he pulls out, is Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who said he won’t run against McCarthy but has been quietly preparing for this scenario.
It doesn’t look like McCarthy is too worried…
GOP Leader McCarthy has moved into the speakers suite but if he fails to secure 218 he will have to move all his stuff back out @AllieRaffa pic.twitter.com/Lb2swMgQ2p
— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotnbc) January 2, 2023
Tyler Durden
Tue, 01/03/2023 – 14:54
