Stalemate grinds on as McCarthy fails on 10th ballot to be U.S. House Speaker
Holdouts continue to refuse to give fellow Republican the votes he needs
For a third day, divided Republicans left the Speaker's chair of the U.S. House empty Thursday, as party leader Kevin McCarthy failed and failed again to win enough votes to seize the chamber's gavel.
Pressure was building as McCarthy lost a tenth round of voting in the fight to choose a Speaker in a disputed election. But with his supporters and foes seemingly at a stalemate, feelings of both boredom and desperation seemed increasingly evident with no end in sight.
One McCarthy critic, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, even cast his votes in two rounds for Donald Trump, a symbolic but pointed sign of the broader divisions over the Republican Party's future.
"It's not happening," said Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado who nominated a new alternative, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, and urged colleagues to consider a future without McCarthy, saying: "We need a leader who is not of the broken system."
McCarthy could be seen talking, one on one, in whispered conversations in the House chamber, and he met privately earlier with colleagues determined to persuade Republican holdouts to end the paralyzing debate that has blighted the new Republican majority.
"We're having good discussions and I think everyone wants to find a solution," McCarthy told reporters shortly before the House started its third session.
Despite endless talks, signs of concessions and a public spectacle unlike any other in recent political memory, the path ahead remained highly uncertain. What started as a political novelty, the first time since 1923 a nominee had not won the gavel on the first vote, has devolved into a bitter Republican Party feud and deepening potential crisis.
Democrat continues to win most votes
Meanwhile, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York was renominated by his fellow Democrats. He has won the most votes on every ballot but also remained short of a majority. McCarthy ran second, gaining no ground.
Republican Party holdouts repeatedly put forward the name of Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and later added Hern, assuring the stalemate that increasingly carried undercurrents of race and politics would continue.
Donalds, who is Black, is seen as an emerging party leader and Republican counterpoint to the Democratic leader, Jeffries, who is the first Black leader of a major political party in the U.S. Congress and on track himself to become Speaker some day.
Another Black Republican, newly elected John James, nominated McCarthy on the seventh ballot as nominators became a roll call of the Republicans' rising stars. Brian Mast of Florida, a veteran, appeared to wipe away a tear as he nominated McCarthy on the eighth, and insisted the California Republican was not like past Republican speakers who are derided by conservatives.
For the ninth ballot, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, Troy Nehls of Texas, made the nomination. For the 10th it was newly elected Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, an immigrant from Mexico whose speech drew chants of "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"
McCarthy is under growing pressure from restless Republicans, and Democrats, to find the votes he needs or step aside, so the House can open fully and get on with the business of governing.
The incoming Republican chair of the House's foreign affairs, armed services and intelligence committees all said national security was at risk.
"The Biden administration is going unchecked and there is no oversight of the White House," Republicans Michael McCaul, Mike Rogers and Mike Turner wrote in a joint statement. "We cannot let personal politics place the safety and security of the United States at risk."
But McCarthy's right-flank detractors appear intent on waiting him out, as long as it takes.
Rep. Scott Perry, the leader of the Freedom Caucus, asserted that McCarthy cannot be trusted, and tweeted his displeasure that negotiations over rules changes and other concessions were being made public.
"A deal is NOT done," Perry wrote on Twitter. "When confidences are betrayed and leaks are directed, it's even more difficult to trust."
Holdouts seek to shrink Speaker power
The House resumed at noon on Thursday ahead of what looked to be a long day.
The new Republican majority House was not expected to be in session on Friday, which is the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A prolonged and divisive Speaker's fight would almost certainly underscore the fragility of American democracy after the attempted insurrection two years ago.
To win support, McCarthy has already agreed to many of the demands of Freedom Caucus members, who have been agitating for rules changes and other concessions.
Mostly, the holdouts led by the Freedom Caucus are seeking ways to shrink the power of the Speaker's office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in the legislative process — with seats on key committees and the ability to draft and amend bills in a more free-for-all process. McCarthy conceded to some changes in a Rules package released over New Years weekend, but for some it didn't go far enough.
Those opposing McCarthy do not all have the same complaints, and he may never be able to win over some of them. A small core group of Republicans appear unwilling to ever vote for McCarthy.
"I'm ready to vote all night, all week, all month and never for that person," said Gaetz.
Not since 1923 had a Speaker's election gone to multiple ballots. The longest fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged on for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.
