Kevin McCarthy

Republican becomes first majority party leader in a century to fall short in early ballot.

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After it became clear that math had defeated him once more, the congressman could be heard muttering to himself, “Numbers . . . my old enemy.”

. . “Numbers . According to a source close to the congressman, failing math brought back “terrible memories” for McCarthy.

The G.O.P. has gone from being a disciplined party of limited government to a party of anti-government protest to, now, a party of performative verbiage.

has gone from being a ruthless and disciplined party of limited government and trickle-down economics to a party of anti-government protest to, now, a party of performative verbiage—in which the likes of Gaetz and Boebert (and, of course, Trump) are far more interested in boosting their follower count, raising money, and appearing on “The Sean Hannity Show” or Newsmax than they are in governance. The irony is that McCarthy had already prostrated himself before the ultras, offering them a series of rule changes, one of which would allow just five representatives to force a vote on ousting the Speaker. Gaetz, in his speech nominating Jordan, described McCarthy as an inveterate swamp creature who “had sold shares of himself for a decade” to get the job of Speaker. Even as McCarthy told reporters that he had no intention of dropping out, it wasn’t evident what good a delay would do. It is the essence of a revolution, especially one staged for social media and Fox News, that the revolutionaries cannot be bought off by members of the corrupt establishment. [Kevin McCarthy](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/26/what-kevin-mccarthy-will-do-to-gain-power), the California Republican who had been confidently predicting a victory despite steadfast opposition from some of the ultra wingnuts in the G.O.P. He must have thought that it would be more rewarding to spend the next two years going after the F.B.I., the Justice Department, and Hunter Biden than trying to deal with the likes of Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Andy Biggs—the outgoing head of the Freedom Caucus, who stood against McCarthy in the first ballot on Monday. Until Monday, the most embarrassing moment of McCarthy’s career was when, three weeks after [January 6th](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/25/among-the-insurrectionists), he hightailed it down to Mar-a-Lago to pay homage to the disgraced instigator of a failed autogolpe. Having secured the position he wants as chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Ohioan was evidently content to support McCarthy for Speaker rather than pursue the top office himself. Not in a hundred years had it been such fun to be in the new minority party. “I’ve got my popcorn ready,” she joked on Twitter, where she also posted a picture of herself just outside the Speaker’s lobby. Robin Kelly, the Democratic representative of Illinois’s Second District, had the right idea when she headed into the House chamber early Tuesday afternoon.

Republican rebels defeated party leader Kevin McCarthy three times. Can he still find a way to win?

One suggestion verged on fantasy (five Republicans decide to vote for Mr Jeffries, a Democrat, and deliver him control of the House). "Kevin McCarthy has not made friends with certain segments of the caucus for a while, he's made a lot of enemies," said one Republican lobbyist, who requested anonymity to speak frankly about Tuesday's vote. The other Republican lobbyist, however, believed there was "no path to victory, at all, period." Mr McCarthy entered into negotiations with his detractors - who see him as too mainstream and power hungry - offering concessions to try to win their vote. That allowed a group of hardline conservatives to band together to oppose his nomination. Instead, Mr McCarthy faced a rebellion from within his own ranks and made history for all the wrong reasons.

Kevin McCarthy vowed to 'battle on the floor' after defeat in the first round of voting.

Despite being in the minority in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority, McConnell could prove to be a viable partner as Biden seeks bipartisan victories in the new era of divided government. Some of the staunch Republican conservatives challenged McCarthy in the private session. It’s reminiscent of the last time Republicans took back the House majority, after the 2010 midterms, when the tea-party class ushered in a new era of hardball politics, eventually sending Speaker John Boehner to an early retirement. Biggs, R-Ariz., was running as a conservative option, but was not expected to pull a majority. The morning meeting of House Republicans turned raucous ahead of what’s traditionally a celebratory day as newly elected members arrive to be sworn into office. With just 222 GOP seats, McCarthy could afford to lose only a handful of their votes. Lawmakers convened in a new era of divided government as Democrats relinquish control of the House after midterm election losses. McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it took to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. A new generation of Trump-aligned Republicans led the opposition to McCarthy. Pete Aguilar of California, the third-ranking Democrat, in nominating his colleague. Earlier, he strode into the chamber, posed for photos, and received a standing ovation from many on his side of the aisle after being nominated by the third-ranking Republican, Rep. In the final first-round tally, McCarthy won 203 votes, with 10 for Biggs and nine for other Republicans.

Hardline Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday repeatedly blocked fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy's bid to become the chamber's ...

"We need to rally around him," Jordan had said in an impassioned speech on the House floor. He noted that McCarthy previously tried in 2015 to become speaker and failed in the face of conservative opposition, adding, "He's not gonna have this chance again." She will remain in office as a representative. As speaker, McCarthy would be well placed to frustrate Biden's legislative ambitions. The chamber's top Democrat, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, bested McCarthy in all three votes. Their slim 222-212 majority gives greater clout to a small group of hardliners, who want to focus on dealing defeat to Democrats and pushing investigations of President Joe Biden's administration and family.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks to reporters during a news conference following a GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center Feb.

In the run up to the speaker vote, McCarthy tried everything. That appeared to have the reverse effect of what he and his allies were intending. Trump maintained his power with the base and endorsed scores of candidates in the 2022 midterms. The pair were able to use each other – Trump for normalizing what he did Jan. The ostensible reason for the GOP-led Benghazi investigation was to find out what happened in an attack on an American embassy in Libya, where four people died – not to hurt Clinton. With just a four-seat majority, how can they govern if they're going through all this just to pick a leader? In 2010, Republicans rode the Tea Party wave to win control of the House, but the cost was steep. He seemed willing to do a lot of things to get the job, including burrowing into former President Trump's good graces. Fights over raising the debt ceiling – something that had been routine and protected U.S. How this gets resolved is an open question – either McCarthy somehow wins over the hard-right members who are steadfastly holding out against him or he bows out, clearing the way for someone else. It's an untenable position for the country. Jim Jordan for speaker before a second round of voting Tuesday.

House adjourned until noon today as McCarthy becomes the first nominee for speaker in 100 years to fail to win the first vote. Plus, the truth behind 10 of ...

You drink a lot of water in Antarctica because it is so dry, which means going to the toilet in the middle of the night and getting out of bed to walk through a corridor with the sunlight streaming in at 2am. [heavier, potato-shaped stones can achieve more dramatic results](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jan/04/potato-shaped-stones-are-better-for-skimming-say-experts), which blast the rock into the air. In summer, the strangest thing to get used to is the 24 hours of sun. Intense scrutiny has been applied to his claims about his education and career in business and to elements of his personal story, including his supposed descent from Holocaust survivors and a claim that his mother died as a result of the 9/11 attacks. I thought the weather was going to be brutal all the time – I didn’t think there would be days where I could walk out in a T-shirt and a hoodie. The group, which is acknowledged as a religion by the US government, has seven fundamental tenets, one of which states: “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.” With lawsuits filed in Indiana, Idaho, Texas and Missouri, the Satanic Temple is about to find out whether US courts agree. The Republican opposition to McCarthy has been led by members of the House Freedom Caucus, a hard-right group that has pushed for changes to chamber rules. Now a minority religion is fighting for the right to abortion. He had acknowledged he was unlikely to win on the first ballot, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy delay before new members of the House could be sworn in. Scott Perry, the Freedom Caucus chair, reiterated his opposition yesterday and accused McCarthy of failing to work in good faith with his group. In the first two ballots to decide the next speaker, 19 Republicans opposed McCarthy, leaving him 15 votes short of the 218 needed to win.

Republican hostage-takers know how the system works. Andy Biggs, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar and other House Republicans conversing in the ...

Is it possible that a different minority — the ever-shrinking band of genuinely moderate Republicans — will join the Democrats to elect a speaker of their own? (It’s unlikely, of course, and the lesson of what happened to pro-impeachment House Republicans does not suggest a happy ending for this tactic). We don’t know yet whether the current smash up in the House will cause an aggrieved majority of House Republicans to finally say “enough” to the rebels, who are surely eager to cause more mayhem after this episode. Did it matter that the overwhelming majority of them wanted to hand McCarthy the speaker’s gavel? Did it matter that the great majority of House Republicans did not embrace these demands? It’s supposed to be a contrast to the Senate, which is laden with protection against the unruly mob.

Republican Kevin McCarthy's bruising quest to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives entered a second day on Wednesday, with the party's new ...

"This is the United States of America, and I hope they get their act together." But the standoff raised questions about whether the House will be able to meet basic obligations such as funding government operations, let alone advance other policy priorities. Trump remains an influential figure among Republicans and is so far the only announced presidential candidate for 2024. All 212 of the chamber's Democrats voted for Jeffries. "I'm open to it," Khanna told Reuters, adding that other Democrats could also be on board. He cited House Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Gallagher and Dave Joyce as possibilities.

Trying to avoid the first failed speaker vote in 100 years, McCarthy could afford to lose only four Republicans in the crucial party-line tally that opens each ...

After the adjournment, members left for meetings that many hoped would break the stalemate in time for the House to reconvene today at noon. “I think everybody goes in their corner and talks,” Representative Ken Buck of Colorado, a conservative who voted for McCarthy, told reporters. But when Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a McCarthy ally, made a motion to adjourn before the fourth vote could be taken, no one put up a fight. “Jeffries, Jeffries, Jeffries!” now-former Speaker Nancy Pelosi exclaimed in the fourth hour of voting. As the third ballot dragged on, a few Republicans seemed on the verge of nodding off, and others grew chippy. Democrats, the party that voters had relegated to the minority, were giddy and celebratory. “Let the show begin!” one exclaimed after the House formally convened. But it also “emboldened the other side,” Representative Pete Sessions of Texas told reporters before the votes. When the chamber adjourned for the day at about 5:30 p.m., McCarthy had already left the floor, his latest bid for speaker thwarted at least momentarily, and perhaps for good. “The world is watching.” He pointed out that the Republican whom all 19 of his detractors had backed on the second ballot, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, didn’t even want the speaker’s job and was supporting him. Shortly before 4 p.m.yesterday, Kevin McCarthy, the man who desperately wanted to be House speaker, had just suffered two brutally public rejections in a row.

Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Kevin McCarthy's bid to become the next Speaker of the House, in an effort to quell opposition to the California ...

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Republican House leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy appeared no closer Wednesday to securing the 218 votes he needs to be elected speaker.

Donalds said any member of the chamber should be allowed to call for a vote on the House leader. "When it comes to leveraging money to be spent in response, that's something the members would have to put into their calculus as well. Despite Trump's broad support among conservative Republican voters, it was not clear his new endorsement would move the needle for any of the holdouts in Congress. The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that 'Sir, you do not have the votes and it's time to withdraw.'" Scott Perry, who is among the most outspoken opponents of McCarthy's speaker bid. I think we can get to an agreement." "And Nancy Pelosi is the one who stripped it. "This was a mainstay rule in our chamber that empowered all the members of Congress," said Donalds, who on Tuesday had publicly shifted his support away from McCarthy. That would make it easier to replace the future House speaker. This left all 434 members of the House technically still members-elect, not official voting representatives. The House adjourned Wednesday night after breaking for several hours earlier in the evening to give Republicans more time to sway 20 of the party's most conservative members that have been blocking McCarthy's run for speaker. The House gaveled back in shortly after 8 p.m.

Republican leader's prospects dim as he continues to fall short on the second day of voting.

The continued chaos came after the first three votes held on Tuesday failed to produce a winner. After demanding a number of changes to chamber rules, one anti-McCarthy lawmaker suggested the leader’s handling of policy was to blame for his poor standing among certain conference members. Congressman Jimmy Gomez, a Democrat from California who brought his four-month-old to the Capitol for a swearing-in ceremony that has still not happened, [tweeted](https://twitter.com/repjimmygomez/status/1610401873919459328) a photo of his son: “Two bottle feeds and multiple diaper changes on the Democratic cloakroom floor. But his declaration did little to change the minds of the conservatives dug in against McCarthy, some of whom are the former president’s staunchest allies on Capitol Hill. The tension in the House chamber seemed to ratchet up on Wednesday as the votes stretched on. [tweeted out](https://twitter.com/RepRobinKelly/status/1610325404878880768) photos of themselves enjoying popcorn as the floor fight unfolded on Tuesday. Democrats lost that effort by only a handful of votes, a possible sign of more struggles to come as a divided Republican party takes their narrow majority in the In his floor speech, Gallagher acknowledged the chaos that has consumed the election so far and lamented the party’s narrow majority. In remarks nominating Donalds for speaker on the fifth vote, the far-right conservative congresswoman Lauren Boebert suggested that Trump reverse course and tell McCarthy: “It’s time to withdraw.” After the House adjourned for a few hours, McCarthy and his allies went into negotiations with the Republican holdouts without a clear path forward to end the standoff, then pushed back a seventh vote on the House leadership until Thursday. The stalemate marked the first time in a century that a House speaker was not chosen in the initial vote. Twenty conservatives opposed to McCarthy’s bid rallied behind Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida, while Congresswoman Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who had supported the Republican leader in earlier rounds of balloting, voted “present”.

As Republicans fight over who will lead the House of Representatives, gamblers don't like Kevin McCarthy's odds.

I believe in the many virtues of vices. I am a staff writer on the vices beat, covering cannabis, gambling and more. At BetOnline, a website based in Panama, McCarthy is still the favorite at -125 odds while Steve Scalise (R-La.) is at +190. In a chaotic, historical event like the speaker nomination, even people in Congress don’t know what the outcome will be. As for 2024 presidential election, Krishnamurty expects big money to be wagered: “Sky’s the limit.” At BetOnline, bettors have wagered about $20,000 on Trump becoming speaker over the last two years. Gambling on politics is illegal in the U.S. Armed with research, Jake is “going all in” on Kevin McCarthy to become the next speaker, even though he lost three times on Tuesday, the first roll call for the 118th Congress. [PredictIt](https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/7326/Who-will-be-Speaker-of-the-House-of-Representatives-in-the-next-Congress), one of the only legal platforms in the U.S. And, technically, it’s not a gambling website: the platform is ostensibly an academic research tool like the Iowa Political Exchange. The site, which is operated by Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, has been running since 2014, thanks to a no-action letter provided by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The debacle marked the first time in 100 years that the House majority failed to elect a speaker during its first day in session.

Trump demanded defiant House Republicans "vote for Kevin", but they refused.

John Boehner, who struggled with the “Hell No” caucus of House Republicans when he was Speaker from 2011 to 2015, observed: “What they're really interested in ...

From The Economist published under licence. © 2020 The Economist Newspaper Limited. A weakened Speaker will make it even harder for Congress to pass contentious legislation this year. There is no constitutional reason why the moderates in both parties could not club together, seize control of the legislative agenda and tell the extreme wings of their parties to lump it. After his elevation to Minority Leader-elect, Jeffries said po-faced things about the chaos on the other side being a sad day for democracy, while his colleagues tittered at the McCarthy spectacle. Alas, party discipline, tribal loyalty and the threat of primary challengers combine to make this impossible. John Boehner, who struggled with the “Hell No” caucus of House Republicans when he was Speaker from 2011 to 2015, observed: “What they’re really interested in is chaos… The move is therefore a drastic one for the Never Kevins to make. Nor do the Never Kevins have much of an agenda themselves. The last exception to this was a century ago, when progressive Republicans held up their party’s candidate. This leaves the people temporarily without representation. *