Opposition to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) grew in the third vote for Speaker.
McCarthy failed to secure the Speaker’s gavel on the third vote, with the final tally showing him garnering 202 votes.
Twenty Republicans voted against him, an increase from the 19 GOP opponents on the first two ballots.
All 20 voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who himself voted for McCarthy.
For the third time, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) garnered all Democratic votes.
The House hasn’t needed more than one ballot to pick a Speaker in a century — 218 votes are required.
Now it is poised for a fourth vote as the House is adjourned until Wednesday.
Stay with The Hill for live updates throughout the day below:
McCarthy speaks to the press at the Capitol
With no Speaker, line of succession is again two women
As Republican infighting continues to delay the election of a House Speaker, the first two spots in the line of presidential succession are once again held by women.
Vice President Kamala Harris (D) and President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are currently first and second in line to the presidency, after a small group of Republicans blocked Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid for Speaker on Tuesday and dragged the process into a second day.
While Harris will remain first in line as vice president, Murray would shift to third in line once a Speaker is elected.
— Julia Mueller
Trump attacks McConnell, wife over GOP ‘turmoil’ after McCarthy fails to win Speakership
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his wife, former Trump administration Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, for “unnecessary turmoil” within the GOP in the wake of House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) failure to win the lower chamber’s Speakership.
“There is so much unnecessary turmoil in the Republican Party,” Trump said, saying the disorder is due in large part to McConnell, Chao and their “RINO” allies, using an acronym for “Republicans In Name Only.”
— Julia Mueller
Tucker Carlson: ‘Refreshing’ to see McCarthy struggle to win votes for Speaker
Fox News host Tucker Carlson reveled on Tuesday evening after watching Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) fail to secure enough votes in the House to win the Speaker’s gavel.
“The fact that this race has not been settled by now is being described by many, especially online, as embarrassing,” Carlson said as he opened his nightly program. “And it is embarrassing if you prefer the Soviet-style consensus of the Democratic Party’s internal elections. … That’s what they do. But if you prefer democracy to oligarchy, if you prefer real debate about issues that actually matter, it’s pretty refreshing to see it.”
“Yes, it’s a little chaotic,” Carlson continued. “But this is what it is supposed to be.”
— Dominick Mastrangelo
Jeffries: Tuesday a ‘sad day’ for House and democracy
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.), held a brief press conference after the House adjourned without an elected Speaker on Tuesday, calling it a “sad day” for the House and for cemocracy.
Jeffries praised Clark for making sure that all Democrats were present and unified through all three ballots.
“We’re ready, willing and able to get to work on behalf of the American people, but we don’t have a partner on the other side. of the aisle. Because the Republican Conference has apparently been taken over by extreme MAGA Republicans,” Jeffries said. “And to the extent they are reasonable individuals on the other side of the aisle, they have no way out.”
When asked about moderate Republicans floating a scenario of working with Democrats to elect a moderate GOP Speaker alternative, Jeffries said that he has not had outreach from Republicans leadership or individuals.
“We are looking for a willing partner to solve problems for the American people, not save the Republicans from their dysfunction,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries did not directly answer whether he would support changing House rules to elect a Speaker with a plurality of votes, as the House did twice in 1849 and 1856 after 59 and 129 failed ballots.
“We’re focused right now on trying to organize in a way that is consistent with the rules of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries said.
— Emily Brooks
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) says McCarthy “ought to pull out.”
Democrats spend day throwing shade at Republicans
House Democrats spent the day throwing shade at their GOP counterparts as the Speakership race went to multiple ballots for the first time in a century with Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failing to secure the gavel.
In a series of tweets from lawmakers, Democrats had a laugh at the way the House Speaker race was unfolding — and complained about the delays in House business.
— Sarakshi Rai
Trump won’t say if he’s sticking by McCarthy after failed Speakership votes
Former President Trump on Tuesday declined to say whether he will stick by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) as his bid to become Speaker appeared to hit a wall.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told NBC News in a phone conversation when asked if he stands by his endorsement of McCarthy.
“I got everybody calling me wanting my support,” Trump told NBC. “But let’s see what happens and we’ll go — I got everybody calling, wanting my support. That’s all I can say. But we’ll see what happens. We’ll see how it all works out.”
— Brett Samuels
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) says McCarthy is going to be Speaker.
Jordan says no chance he’ll be Speaker
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Tuesday said there was no chance that he would become House Speaker after lawmakers adjourned without electing a new leader, despite garnering the support of a group of Republicans that have refused to support Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Twenty GOP lawmakers voted for Jordan to lead the chamber in the historic third round of voting for Speaker. But the Ohio Republican, who offered the nominating speech for McCarthy before the second round of voting, continued to support McCarthy. He told reporters after the third vote that he had no intention of becoming Speaker.
— Stephen Neukam
Could Republicans work with Dems on Speaker deal?
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) on Tuesday raised the possibility of moderate Republicans working with Democrats to cut a deal to secure a Speaker, as divisions remain on display within the GOP over who should lead the party in the new Congress.
While he told reporters he’s against the idea, Crenshaw said he has heard talks of Republicans potentially “striking a deal with Democrats” to secure a more moderate GOP Speaker.
“Why wouldn’t they?” he said, referring to Democrats. “Because they’ve already proven that we’ll flounder and then they’ll be able to get a moderate Speaker and we’ll give Biden deals for his reelection. Of course, they would make a lot of sense for Democrats.”
“These people trying to take down Kevin McCarthy, they don’t think more than five feet in front of them,” Crenshaw said, adding in later comments that Democrats “would be crazy not to take that deal if it was presented to them.”
“To be clear, I would not be in support of that scenario,” he said. “I’d rather just keep this going. But you better believe that that could happen.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who had previously floated working with Democrats in a compromise Speaker candidate, said that he has not been working on that backup plan as members show support for McCarthy.
But if that plan went forward, he added, “you’d score to the top one or two people in the Democrat party to start making a deal.”
Bacon also said former Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who voted in favor of impeaching Trump, has been mentioned as a possible option.
— Aris Folley and Emily Brooks
20th GOP opponent to McCarthy explains his vote for Jordan
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)switched his vote for Speaker during a third vote for the leadership position on Tuesday, bringing the number of GOP lawmakers against House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) to 20.
“The reality is Rep. Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have the votes. I committed my support to him publicly and for two votes on the House Floor,” Donalds wrote on Twitter as the House gaveled yet another Speaker vote without a winner.
The House has adjourned until noon Wednesday after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed to secure the Speakership on the third ballot.
The tally left Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) with 212 votes, McCarthy with 202 votes and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) with 20 votes.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) says GOP-controlled House will be an “embarrassing public train wreck” while they “refuse” to govern.
Here are the 20 GOP lawmakers who voted against McCarthy for Speaker on third ballot:
