House Republicans elected Kevin McCarthy as the next speaker of the House in a vote that went past midnight Saturday morning, ending days of holdout from a group of hardliners that brought House business to a standstill and led to the most lengthy speaker vote in history.
Speaker of the House at the Capitol on Wednesday. The photo was taken by Win McNamee.
McCarthy secured a majority on the fifteenth ballot after falling one vote short in the 14th round.
McCarthy's six remaining GOP dissenters all voted "present" on the fifteenth ballot, after four cast votes for other candidates, which kept him from winning in the earlier round.
McCarthy needed 218 to 215 votes to get a majority, but the present votes lowered that number.
The talks between Republicans between the 14th and 15th votes became intense, with one of them being physically restrained as he confronted another.
The Democrats voted for Hakeem Jeffries to become the House minority leader.
McCarthy's bid seemed to be in some doubt going into Friday after he failed to get the support of a single member who voted against him. Fourteen people switched their votes to McCarthy on the twelfth ballot. The fifteenth vote was cast by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.). Many who changed their votes cited positive negotiations with McCarthy as the reason, after the speaker gave in to several key demands from his opposition McCarthy's allies held meetings all day with the six holdouts remaining after the 13th ballot. This was the first time since 1923 that it took more than one ballot to choose a speaker, and the first time since 1860 that it took more than nine. Issues crucial to the very fabric of the nation, like the abolition of slavery, were often the focus of earlier speaker battles.
Rules can be adopted and committees can be formed. Before choosing a speaker, the House couldn't conduct any business.
Several alternative candidates were coalesced around by the Dissenters through the Voting Process. Donalds flipped to McCarthy on the twelfth ballot after backing his own campaign. Gaetz nominated Donald Trump for speaker and voted for him in some rounds.
McCarthy made progress by flipping 15 Republican votes.
McCarthy is being blocked from becoming speaker.
McCarthy agrees to some concessions in his quest to become speaker, but they may not be enough.
Here's what's at stake without a speaker.
The House Speaker Race is not nearly as Chaotic as the 133-ballot epic in 1856.
He is technically eligible for the job because he got one vote for the speaker.
The Republican is challenging McCarthy for speaker.
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