McCarthy loses ninth speaker vote with legislative action at standstill

During all three votes on Thursday, McCarthy received only 201 votes, short of the 218 needed for a majority of the full House.

Donalds received 19 votes during the first ballot, then 17 votes on the second and third. All 212 Democrats voted for Jeffries. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., voted for former President Donald Trump both times, as there is no rule requiring that the speaker is a member of the House.

Hern received three votes during the third ballot.

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., voted present as she did beginning with Wednesday’s votes.

McCarthy failed to gather the necessary votes to be elected speaker in a series of six votes that stretched into Wednesday night as lawmakers failed to elect a speaker in a single vote for the first time in more than 100 years.

McCarthy could not gain the support of more than 201 House members in any of the votes cast Wednesday while Democratic nominee Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York received 212 votes in each round and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., received 20 votes from McCarthy’s detractors in the two votes.

Both Donalds and Jeffries would be the first Black speaker in U.S. history if elected. Others, such as former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, put themselves forward as an alternate.

Following Wednesday’s vote, McCarthy gathered his allies and some of his opponents and reached an agreement that the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with McCarthy, would not spend money backing candidates in open-seat Republican primaries in safe Republican districts, while the Club For Growth would shift its stance and back McCarthy for speaker.

McCarthy also reinforced his commitment to several concessions he agreed to Sunday in a proposed House rules package, including changes to how the speaker could be removed.

The concession allows any five Republicans to call for the speaker’s removal at any time, rather than a threshold of more than half of the House GOP conference that Republicans adopted in an internal rule in November.

McCarthy further addressed a request from the far-right wing to have more representation on committees.

Following the sixth vote on Wednesday night the House voted 216-214 in favor of adjourning until Thursday afternoon. The vote was split mostly along party lines with Republicans wanting to call it a night, and Democrats voting to stay for the crucial vote.

The deadlock leaves much of the U.S. political machinery at a standstill. None of the newly minted congressional leaders, for example, can be sworn in until someone ascends to the role of speaker.

Returning lawmakers also have not had their security clearances renewed and can’t receive private briefings from the military and intelligence agencies.

“If there’s a real emergency, we couldn’t respond,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said. “Either the Republicans don’t understand that, or they do understand that and they don’t care. I don’t know which is worse, but it is a profound danger to the country as long as it lasts.”

Without a speaker, the House also can’t carry out oversight of the federal government or other entities or call witnesses before committees.

Because the U.S. Constitution does not spell out what role the speaker plays in an official capacity, the role has largely been shaped by customs and tradition.

The speaker is next in line after the U.S. vice president to lead the nation in the event of a circumstance that would prevent the commander-in-chief from carrying out their duties.

Apart from the inability to govern, the Republican Party looks further divided as, without a speaker, there is no person to relay the party’s agenda and explain the various legislative actions that take place on the floor.

This, in turn, could be seen as fractures emerging in a party divided over its future direction after candidates loyal to former President Donald Trump suffered heavy losses in the November midterms.