McCarthy Fails to Win Speaker’s Gavel in First Round of Voting
The House is headed for another round of voting in the speaker’s race for the first time in 100 years. On Tuesday, lawmakers cast their ballots to choose the next speaker. House Republican Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)…
The House is headed for another round of voting in the speaker’s race for the first time in 100 years.
On Tuesday, lawmakers cast their ballots to choose the next speaker. House Republican Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed to clinch the required 218 votes.
McCarthy received 203 votes, while Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) received 212 votes, and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) received 10 votes.
And nine Republicans cast votes for other candidates for speaker.
As no candidate received 218 votes, the House move on to a second vote to try to elect the new speaker.
And McCarthy was poised to lose on the second ballot as at least 11 Republicans had voted against him.
While McCarthy reportedly said the process “could” last for days, he still expressed optimism he will come out on top.
Before the vote, he reportedly told Republicans during a closed-door meeting, ”I earned this job. We earned this majority, and God dammit we are going to win it today.”