House speaker vote: McCarthy thanks Trump for final votes as fight nearly breaks out on floor
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Your support makes all the difference.Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the House of Representatives after 15 rounds of voting, clinching the gavel just after midnight on Saturday.
The longest contest for speaker of the House of Representatives in more than a century finally came to an end as six remaining Republican holdouts opted to vote “present”, giving Mr McCarthy a majority over Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.
Earlier, Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Matt Gaetz amid chaotic scenes in the House.
Congressman Richard Hudson grabbed Mr Rogers by his face and physically pulled him away.
In his first speech as speaker, Mr McCarthy thanked former president Donald Trump for “helping get those final votes”.
Mr McCarthy’s bid had been delayed by a group of far-right Republicans including the likes of Lauren Boebert and Mr Gaetz.
However, on Friday he made significant progress in the 12th ballot, managing to flip a total of 14 representatives-elect in his favour after lengthy negotiations.
Exclusive: AOC says Republican chaos shows how reasonable progressives like the Squad are
Shock scenes as Republican held back in confrontation with Matt Gaetz during Speaker vote
How Matt Gaetz and AOC cleared the air on their positions over Kevin McCarthy voteTrump phone-ins, near-fights and 15 votes: Key moments from a chaotic House Speaker election
Clark: McCarthy being ‘held hostage to his own ambitions'
Democrat Minority Whip Rep Katherine Clark calls out Rep Kevin McCarthy for creating situation by enabling “dangerous members” currently holding him “hostage”.
“Years of blindly pursuing power … and bowing to election deniers has left the GOP in shambles — Kevin McCarthy is now being held hostage to his own ambitions by the dangerous members that he’s enabled.”
Watch:
Elon Musk throws his support behind McCarthy
Eric Garcia reports:
Mr Musk and Mr McCarthy have been friends for years. He’s also been a political donor to the California Republican, giving a total of $13,000 to Mr McCarthy’s congressional campaigns.
Similarly, last year, Mr Musk spoke at Mr McCarthy’s retreat for Republicans in Wyoming last year.
Elon Musk wades into Kevin McCarthy House speaker row
Musk and McCarthy have known each other for years
Gaetz calls McCarthy a ‘desperate guy'
“He’s a desperate guy whose vote share is dropping with every subsequent vote and I am ready to vote all night, all week, all month, and never for that person,” the Florida Republican said.
Josh Marcus reports.
Matt Gaetz’s demands committee to investigate FBI and he calls McCarthy ‘desperate’
Florida representative one of leaders of faction blocking Kevin McCarthy election as House Speaker
‘Nothing’s going to come together quickly’
South Dakota Rep Dusty Johnson said after leaving a meeting with Kevin McCarthy: “Either we're going to figure out how to work together in month one, or else we're going to have to replay this Greek tragedy every single week.”
He added progress is being made but “nothing's going to come together quickly”.
Where things stood last night
House lawmakers voted to adjourn for a second day on Wednesday evening without selecting a speaker in a historic defeat for Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and a sign of the total lack of unity that has taken over his caucus.
The chamber had adjourned for several hours after three votes transpired throughout the afternoon and each failed to result in the election of a speaker. Conservative opponents of Mr McCarthy showed no signs of relenting in their effort to block his election to the role, while at the same time, there was little evidence of any consensus candidate emerging to unify both sides.
John Bowden watched events unfold in Washington, DC.
McCarthy delays next vote until Thursday after six humiliating defeats in Speaker bid
Republicans see little progress after marathon of votes
McCarthy must show progress, says Buck
Rep Ken Buck, who has backed Kevin McCarthy through all six ballots, has bluntly warned that he must show progress when the House votes for a seventh time or it is time to step aside.
He told CNN: “If there's a deal and you know, 10 of the 20 move, I think that people stay with him. If there's no deal and we have another vote of 20, I think people are going to start [defecting].”
“Including me,” he added.
“There is a point in time that Kevin is going to lose credibility because he can't make this deal,” Mr Buck said. “And I'm not blaming Kevin, don't misunderstand. I think Kevin has acted in good faith, as the other side has. But if he can't reach a deal, because there are some people who won't move, then it's going to be time to [find someone else].”
Speaker votes don’t get in way of dad duty
As the chaos on Capitol Hill over the next speaker of the House of Representatives continues, one Democratic congressman has made sure the three consecutive days of voting doesn’t interfere with his dad duties.
A viral tweet from California representative Tony Cárdenas shows Democratic congressman Jimmy Gomez with his son, strapped into a baby carrier, as the doting dad worked in Congress. “This baby was born on the first round of votes. He’s now 4 months old,” joked Cárdenas.
Meredith Clark has the story.
Democratic congressman Jimmy Gomez wears baby in carrier during House speaker votes
California congressman Jimmy Gomez brought his four-month-old son, Hodge, to work on Capitol Hill as chaos over the next Speaker of the House continues
ICYMI: Hannity unamused by Boebert quip about nominating Trump for speaker
“Is this a gameshow?” Sean Hannity asked after Colorado lawmaker Lauren Boebert joked about nominating Donald Trump for speaker as the GOP continues its internal battle on the floor of the House.
Watch:
Speaker fight lays bare vacuum in Republican leadership
The episode also poses more profound questions about the party’s identity and future. It’s a fresh reminder of Trump’s waning influence inside the GOP — even among the most vocal supporters of his Make America Great Again political movement — as he again seeks the party’s presidential nomination, exposing a leadership vacuum with no obvious alternative to unite the party and guide it through practical governing responsibilities and political challenges.
Read on:
'A disaster': Speaker fight exposes GOP leadership vacuum
The stalemate over the Republican House speaker vote is more than just an embarrassment for Kevin McCarthy, who is now the first person in a century to muddle through multiple ballots
‘If it wasn’t true, why did they get so offended?’
Rep Kat Cammack gives her take on why people might be offended about being accused of drinking on the job.
Watch:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to the accusation by posting an Instagram story of going out for drinks and dinner at a local distillery after the House adjourned following a sixth stalemate vote and a three-hour break to try and resolve the impasse failed to yield a result.
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