House Republicans block McCarthy as leader for sixth time
The United States House of Representatives, mired in a chaotic leadership battle, has again rejected Republican Kevin McCarthy’s bid to lead the chamber as a small group of holdouts in the party defy former President Donald Trump’s call for unity.
Republican Kevin McCarthy lost successive votes to install him as House of Representatives Speaker, despite his party having a majority. Photo: AP/Alex Brandon
Despite Trump’s appeal, McCarthy fell short in two consecutive votes for House Speaker on Wednesday after three losing votes on Tuesday, as roughly 20 Republicans on the party’s right flank refused to back a candidate they deemed ideologically unreliable.
The last time the House failed to elect a Speaker on the first ballot was 1923, a century ago.
The leadership fight has provided a dismaying start for the new Republican majority in the House after the party managed to secure a slim majority in the chamber – 222-212 – in November’s midterm elections.
The internal struggle underscores the challenges the party could face in the next two years, heading into the 2024 presidential election.
The results were identical in both rounds of voting on Wednesday.
McCarthy, who has served as the top House Republican since 2019, secured only 201 votes of the 218 needed, while 20 Republicans voted for Representative Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican first elected in 2020.
One Republican declined to back a specific candidate.
All 212 of the chamber’s Democrats voted for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
“I think the path is very difficult right now for Kevin,” Donalds told Fox News after the vote.
McCarthy said he ultimately would prevail.
“The conversation will continue. We’ll get there,” McCarthy told reporters before Wednesday’s voting.
Opponents said the leadership fight could drag on for weeks.
“It’s worth taking a few days or a few weeks to get the best possible Speaker,” Republican Representative Bob Good, one of the holdouts, said.
The vote is also a rebuke of Trump, who urged fellow Republicans to set aside their differences.
“It’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN,” Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social on Wednesday ahead of the day’s votes.
Trump remains an influential figure among Republicans and is so far the only announced presidential candidate for 2024.
Some in the party have blamed Trump for the failure of Republicans to win more congressional seats in the midterms.
Hardliners called on him to take another tack.
“The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy, ‘Sir, you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw’,” Republican Representative Lauren Boebert said, referring to Trump.
The leadership standoff has raised questions about whether the House will be able to meet basic obligations such as funding government operations, let alone advance other policy priorities ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
“This is not a good look,” Biden said of the House leadership struggle, speaking to reporters at the White House.
“It’s not a good thing. This is the United States of America, and I hope they get their act together.”
McCarthy’s opponents on Tuesday selected conservative Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio as their candidate.
Jordan backs McCarthy.
Incoming House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana also was seen as a possible alternative.
-AAP
