A small group of hardliners still have enough votes to block McCarthy from the speakership even though he won back 15 Republicans who had previously opposed him.
The speaker of the house will be elected on January 6, 2023. The photo was taken by Win McNamee.
All but one of the congressmen voted against McCarthy on the 13th ballot.
A previous holdout, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), flipped on the 13th ballot, while 14 formerly anti-McCarthy voters switched support on the 12th ballot.
McCarthy made some major concessions to his opposition, including allowing for a motion to vacate, which made it easier for House members to replace the speaker mid-term.
The razor-thin majority of the Republicans in the House makes it difficult for McCarthy to get four votes against him.
It's not clear what concessions McCarthy could still make to get the holdouts to vote for him.
Gaetz accused Republicans of backing McCarthy because of his ability to raise money, while Good said McCarthy doesn't have anything that he wants.
Is this an exercise in self pity? Gaetz said that McCarthy was putting the institution through something that was avoidable.
According to CBS News, McCarthy's allies are going to meet with the holdouts before the House reassembles.
McCarthy had not flipped a vote since the process began on Tuesday, but the vote changes Friday were a big change. Picking a speaker is typically a rubber stamp act for the House, but the new Congress' lengthy vote has now required more ballots than any speaker election before the Civil War. The results of the elections gave the Republicans a majority in the chamber, but only five of them voted against the party line.
Rules can't be adopted and committees can't be formed until the speaker is elected. Senate president pro tempore Patty Murray is third in line to the presidency.
McCarthy made progress by flipping 15 Republican votes.
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