The House reconvened briefly Wednesday evening before voting to adjourn for the day rather than hold a seventh vote for Speaker.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday failed to secure the Speakership on the House’s sixth vote — and third of the day.
But signs began emerging of progress in GOP talks.
McCarthy, leaving a meeting later Wednesday said there was no deal but Republicans had “made a lot of progress.”
It’s been a century since the House required more than one vote to select a Speaker.
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Hannity presses Boebert on Speaker chaos: ‘Is this a game show?’
Fox News host Sean Hannity repeatedly pressed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) about her efforts to block Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid to claim the House Speakership this week during a tense interview on his nightly program on Wednesday.
“Isn’t it time for you and your side to pack it in considering he (McCarthy) has over 200 (votes) and you have 20,” Hannity asked the republican congresswoman.
“I understand the frustration, I promise you,” she replied.
“I’m not frustrated,” Hannity interrupted. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“There are more for us than against us,” Boebert continued.
– Dominick Mastrangelo
House votes to adjourn until Thursday
The House on Wednesday returned at 8 p.m. — only to immediate vote to adjourn until Thursday at noon.
The final vote was 216-214.
Four Republicans joined all Democrats in voting “no”: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep.-elect Eli Crane (Ariz.).
Two Democrats and two Republicans did not vote.
Democratic leaders had whipped against the motion, hoping to force a seventh Speakership vote.
There appeared to be a commotion on the House floor at the tail end of the vote, as Democrats demanded it be held open longer.
Democrats oppose motion to adjourn
As the House comes back at 8 p.m., Democrats are opposing a motion to adjourn until Thursday at noon.
Democratic leadership suggested their members vote “no” on the motion and force a seventh vote on the Speakership — and so far all Democrats have done so.
The House is currently voting on a motion to adjourn until noon Thursday.
McCarthy: ‘I don’t think voting tonight is productive’
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he didn’t back holding another vote for Speaker Wednesday night.
“I don’t think voting tonight is productive,” he said as he left a meeting.
He did, however, say that while no deal has been struck, Republicans “made a lot of progress.”
— Emily Brooks
If you’re just tuning in, here’s what you missed today in the House:
- Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lost three consecutive House votes for Speaker.
- The 20 Republicans who voted for someone else coalesced around Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla).
- Some signs of progress began to emerge, but no deal has been struck.
- Allies of McCarthy made a key concession they hope will win over some votes.
Gaetz, Boebert emerge from Wednesday evening meeting unmoved toward McCarthy
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) emerged from a meeting Wednesday evening slamming McCarthy for a “bad faith effort.”
He claimed McCarthy apologized to him for saying untrue things about negotiations with his detractors — but would no do so publicly.
“Mr. McCarthy asked those of us who were not intending to vote for him to provide him a list of our members who might be willing to serve on relevant committees … McCarthy said, ‘Look, if you want to have a say on the budget, if you want to have to say on the rules, you have to recommend people that might be willing to serve’ … because guess what, not everybody here wants to be a committee chair, subcommittee chair. And so we then endeavor to create that list to provide it to Mr. McCarthy. And then he ran around telling all y’all and members of his team that we were out there negotiating for personal favors for ourselves.”
“It was a bad faith effort for McCarthy to solicit a list and then use that list in some way to try to divide our conference.”
Also with him leaving the meeting was Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). Asked if there is anything that McCarthy can do to win her support, she said: “No.”
— Emily Brooks
ICYMI: These 21 Republicans did not support McCarthy on Day 2 of the Speaker’s vote
McCarthy-backed PAC strikes crucial deal, won’t spend in safe GOP open-seat primaries
Allies of House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy made a big concession on Wednesday night as the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a PAC that helps fund Republican House candidates, said it will not spend in any open-seat primaries in safe GOP districts, opening the door for a key conservative group to back him for Speaker.
CLF, which is endorsed by McCarthy, struck the deal with the Club for Growth, which is expected to support McCarthy for the top job, assuming the rules package is struck includes provisions the Club asked for. Included in that is a call for “open rules” on all major rules bills, such as appropriations, that would allow rank-and-file lawmakers to have amendments brought to the floor.
“This agreement on super PAC’s fulfills a major concern we have pressed for. We understand that Leader McCarthy and Members are working on a rules agreement that will meet the principles we have set out previously.” David McIntosh, the head of the Club for Growth, said in a statement. “Assuming these principles are met, Club for Growth will support Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.”
The move could prove crucial in McCarthy’s quest to win the gavel. The call among conservatives for McCarthy-backed outside groups not to play in such districts had been a major point of contention, but serves as a major win for those opposing him as Speaker.
“Kevin McCarthy has effectively led House Republicans from the Minority to the Majority and we want to see him continue to lead the party so we can pick up seats for the third cycle in a row. CLF will not spend in any open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts and CLF will not grant resources to other super PAC’s to do so” said Dan Conston, CLF’s president, in a statement.
— Al Weaver
McCarthy allies, opponents signal optimism to breaking House Speaker deadlock
After two long days of clashes and deadlock, Republicans on Wednesday said there were some signs of progress in the grueling process to seat the Speaker to lead their new majority in the new Congress.
In six votes over two days, a group of roughly 20 conservative firebrands has blocked the bid by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to lead the lower chamber into a crucial 2024 presidential election.
Yet key members of the McCarthy resistance indicated Wednesday afternoon that the marathon talks aimed at reaching some agreement were finally bearing fruit.
Those voices emphasized that they’re not ready to support McCarthy just yet. But the signs of forward movement mark a sharp shift from the entrenched stalemate between the sides that had practically defined the talks over the last several weeks.
“We’re having ongoing conversations, they’ve actually been more productive in the last two hours than they’ve been in a long time,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of McCarthy’s detractors, told reporters at the Capitol between the fifth and sixth ballots.
“There’s genuine, good faith, ‘Hey let’s get this done’ conversations,” Roy added.
The question will be what McCarthy needs to give up to win over his opponents, and whether anything can win over them all.
— Mike Lillis and Emily Brooks
McHenry: GOP is having ‘wider conversations’
Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.) said Wednesday afternoon that his House caucus is having a “lot of conversations” over how the Speaker’s race will end.
“We have 20 members who have proven out their votes, and in a majoritarian institution they need to be negotiated with, and we’ll have ongoing negotiations with them through the evening and maybe for the future coming days,” he said.
Can those issues be bridged before the house returns to session on Wednesday night?
“You never know. You don’t know until you start having wider conversations, and that’s what we’re having. … There are multiple meetings happening right now. Lot of conversations.”
McHenry wouldn’t venture to guess if he’d be a compromise candidate for Speaker: “I’m not into equine punditry.”
— Al Weaver
Byron Donalds pushes back on Democratic attacks: ‘This is day two, not day 100’
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) responded to a wave of Democratic attacks on Republicans over the disarray of the election for Speaker, saying it is only “day two” of voting in the House.
“Y’all settle down, we’re going to be all right,” Donalds told reporters. He later added, “[Democrats] are going to try to do their job to message, but the truth is, this is day two, not day 100, not day 200.”
— Stephen Neukam
Rep. Spartz explains reasoning behind ‘present’ vote for Speaker
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) said she voted “present” in Wednesday’s Speaker votes to push Republicans to return to deliberations, as the party remains divided on Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid for the Speakership.
“My concern is that … we didn’t come together yet,” Spartz told reporters. “So, we have to go back to the conference room, to HC-5, and deliberate as a body, as a group of people, and figure it out.”
The House has been adjourned until 8 p.m. ET.
Bishop: Progress being made as conversations ‘producing interesting ideas’
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) on Wednesday said he agrees there has been progress on negotiations.
“There is a dynamic environment and conversations are going on with different people. And I think it’s producing interesting ideas,” he said.
He declined to provide specifics “for fear that that might impair them.”
Bishop has voted against McCarthy on each ballot.
— Emily Brooks
Marjorie Taylor Greene credits Trump for keeping McCarthy’s support intact
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Wednesday that former President Trump deserves credit for keeping the support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) speakership bid from eroding.
McCarthy saw 21 Republicans decline to back his leadership bid through two ballots on Wednesday — a tick up from the 20 detractors who opposed him in the final vote a day earlier.
But Greene suggested that number would have been much higher if Trump hadn’t issued a statement earlier in the day urging McCarthy’s GOP critics to drop their opposition and end the stalemate that’s prevented the new GOP majority from seating the next Speaker.
“It’s a big credit to President Trump that it really helped hold the majority that we have for Kevin McCarthy,” Greene told reporters outside the House chamber just after McCarthy had failed to secure the necessary support for the fifth time. “So that’s how to read that one.”
— Mike Lillis
McCarthy appears headed for a sixth defeat
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) appeared headed for his third defeat of the day — and sixth overall — in the House Speaker’s race.
A dozen Republicans have already voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
McCarthy could only afford to lose four votes.
Chip Roy says ‘progress has been made’ but warns McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said “ongoing conversations” regarding the Speaker’s race have “been more productive in the last two hours” than they have in a while and that “progress has been made.”
But he said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) still lacks the votes to secure the gavel.
“We’re having ongoing conversations, they’ve actually been more productive in the last two hours than they’ve been in a long time,” Roy told reporters on the steps of the Capitol.
“There’s genuine, good faith, ‘hey let’s get this done’ conversations,” he later added.
The comment came shortly after McCarthy failed to win the Speaker’s gavel on the fifth ballot, pushing the race into another round of voting.
Roy has voted for a candidate other than McCarthy on all five ballots, and hinted that he will likely remain an opponent in subsequent ballots.
“My goal has been to figure out how to get the right structures, the right people in place, to make sure we can get the job done. And I don’t think we’re there yet,” he said. “We’ll have these continued conversations and different members of the body have different views on this.”
“I’ll also say, and this is important, right now Kevin doesn’t have the votes and there’s still a solid block of people who were solidified yesterday with that clown show that was the Republican conference meeting yesterday. It did a lot of damage, we’re trying to repair that damage today, and progress has been made,” he added.
— Mychael Schnell
The sixth vote for Speaker has begun.
House floor erupts over Cammack remarks
The Democratic side of the house erupted after Rep. Kat Cammack (R.Fla.) suggested they’re using “popcorn and blanket and alcohol” while the Republicans fight over the Speaker vote. Her comments came while she nominated Kevin McCarthy for speaker in the sixth ballot.
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) is nominating McCarthy for Speaker during the sixth round of voting, which is about to get underway.
Scalise expects one more vote Wednesday before discussions to adjourn
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) said he expects one more round of voting for Speaker in the House today before discussing a motion to adjourn.
The House is beginning its sixth vote and third of the day.
“We’re gonna have one more round of votes. And we’re still having some conversations right now,” he said. “Sounds like after that we’re going to talk again, you know, both sides are talking.”
— Mychael Schnell
Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) was spotted talking to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) during the fifth round of voting in the House chamber.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla), who has been nominated for Speaker of the House, speaks to members of the media on the House steps.
Amash as the alternative?
Former Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) said he is willing to toss his hat in the ring as a possible consensus or interim speaker candidate as GOP leader Kevin McCarthy struggles to nail down the requisite 218 votes needed to win the gavel.
Amash arrived shortly before 2 p.m. EST in the Speaker’s Lobby adjacent to the House chamber and told reporters that he could be a possible candidate for the top spot.
“I think it’s uncertain what will happen. What is the outcome? So I might as well be here. I think I’d make a good candidate for Speaker. I might as well be here. I’m happy to talk to anyone about possibilities, and if they need someone to serve as an interim Speaker who is nonpartisan, I’d be happy to do it. I would never expect that as some sort of full-time, forever position, but maybe they need something for a couple years or maybe they need something even for a while until one side has a clear majority.”
Amash, a libertarian-leaning former lawmaker, was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus before exiting the group in 2019 over his continued criticisms of former President Trump. He changed affiliations to become a Libertarian then until his exit from Congress in 2020.
He added that he was “excited” to see the attempt to oust McCarthy after he, along with other HFC members, tried to do so to former Speakers John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) during their tenures.
“It’s nice to see it actually working out, at least for now — this one time,” Amash added.
— Al Weaver
These 21 Republicans did not support McCarthy for Speaker on Day 2 in the fourth ballot:
McCarthy on track to lose in fifth try
With over half the House votes recorded, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) is heading toward his fifth defeat in his bid to become House Speaker.
It is the second ballot that pits him against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.)