(Bloomberg) — Representative Kevin McCarthy again failed to sway a group of dissident GOP lawmakers and his bid to become House speaker was blocked for the fifth time, deepening the chaos that has enveloped the Republican Party in the first days of the new Congress.
(Bloomberg) — Representative Kevin McCarthy again failed to sway a group of dissident GOP lawmakers and his bid to become House speaker was blocked for the fifth time, deepening the chaos that has enveloped the Republican Party in the first days of the new Congress.
In the unofficial tally of Wednesday’s second roll call ballot, 20 out of 222 House Republicans opposed McCarthy, enough votes to deny him the majority he needed in the face of unified Democratic opposition. The opposition group hasn’t budged in five rounds of voting over two days.
The House is at a standstill until the election of a speaker, which has sharply divided establishment Republicans and a faction of hard-line conservatives who say McCarthy hasn’t done enough to win their votes. No business can be conducted until the speakership is settled.
The spat has turned ugly with both sides taking personal shots. McCarthy, a longtime member of House leadership, and his allies met late Tuesday and early Wednesday to try to resolve the impasse, with little success.
“We’re gonna continue to talk. We’ll find an agreement where we all get together and we’ll work through this and we’ll get it done,” McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday before the first vote.
The dissidents nominated Byron Donalds of Florida, who was first elected in 2020, as an alternative to McCarthy. Republican Representative Chip Roy of Texas in nominating Donalds for speaker called him “a dear friend, a solid conservative.” Donalds had voted with the anti-McCarthy faction in the third vote on Tuesday. He received 20 votes in both rounds of balloting Wednesday.
McCarthy and his allies initially considered a plan to adjourn the House without taking a speaker vote to allow more time for negotiations, but Democrats let it be known they would oppose the move, meaning it likely would fail.
Former President Donald Trump, who continues to hold influence over parts of the Republican Party, sought and failed to break the deadlock with a statement of support for McCarthy. Holdout Lauren Boebert of Colorado said Trump needs to tell McCarthy “that sir you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw.”
President Joe Biden called the situation “embarrassing.”
“How do you think it looks to the rest of the world?” he told reporters before leaving for an infrastructure event in Kentucky, where he’ll appear alongside Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.
Neither McCarthy nor his detractors are ready to back down any time soon, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, who asked for anonymity to talk about private discussions.
Representative Ken Buck of Colorado said he’s told McCarthy that he either needs to cut a deal or step aside and let the No. 2 House Republican, Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise, have a chance.
He said he hasn’t encouraged McCarthy to step aside but told him he “needs to figure out how to make a deal” because the House is “in state of disarray and chaos.”
The holdouts include conservatives who want budget reforms, others who want to change House rules to make it easier to topple the speaker, and still others who are vying for key committee assignments or leadership positions. These kinds of concessions, however, risk alienating establishment Republicans who want their own power.
“This is a hostage situation where these 20 Folks are holding our conservative agenda hostage,” Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina said. “They’re holding all of that up because of their ego and they’re fundraising off of this and it’s unAmerican.”
Democrats unanimously voted for their House leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, as speaker, giving him more votes than McCarthy but still less than a majority of the House.
Republican Representative Don Bacon said on CNN that McCarthy may have to start looking to compromise with Democrats rather than be held hostage by his far-right flank.
“They don’t think we have the wherewithal to do anything without them. We need to show them otherwise,” he said.
Democratic Representative Brad Sherman of California floated such a deal, with major concessions from McCarthy.
“He’s going to have to agree with Democrats to not hold hostage the full faith and credit of the United States, to not put us in a position where we’re going to shut down the government,” he said on Bloomberg Radio’s “Balance of Power.”
Making a deal with Democrats may cost McCarthy more Republican votes, though.
Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar of California said he hadn’t seen any signs that “Republicans are willing to engage” in discussions with Democrats.
Other Democrats signaled they weren’t interested in helping the GOP out of the jam.
“This is a problem of their own making,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “They should be able to work it out. Don’t put this at the Democrats doorstep.”
–With assistance from Steven T. Dennis and Diego Areas Munhoz.
(Updates with fifth round of voting beginning in first paragraph)
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