Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy has come a long way toward gaining the majority he needs to assume the gavel as speaker of the US House of Representatives, but he still fell short.
McCarthy garnered 213 votes on the 12th ballot on Friday, up from the 201 he had the day before, pushing him closer to the 218-vote majority.
A contingent of seven rebels was sufficient to block the Republican leader’s attempt to secure a majority, despite the fact that about a dozen far-right lawmakers who had previously opposed McCarthy’s move changed their minds and supported him on Friday.
McCarthy received more votes on Friday than Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who received 211 votes, for the first time since voting began on Tuesday.
Despite the victories on Friday, there were still concerns about McCarthy’s ability to control a small Republican majority that included individuals prepared to oppose and undercut him.
Before the vote, Florida’s hard-right Congressman Matt Gaetz criticized McCarthy and charged that he was beholden to special interest groups in a combative speech.
Gaetz stated, “Mr. McCarthy does not have the votes now; he will not have the votes tomorrow; he will not have the votes next week; he will not have the votes next month; he will not have the votes next year.”
And thus, Madam Clerk, one must ponder: “Is this an exercise in vanity for someone who has done the arithmetic, taken the counts, and is subjecting this institution to something that is unquestionably avoidable?
The house will now cast its 13th vote. In US history, just four speaker elections required more than 12 ballots, and all four occurred in the 1800s.
McCarthy had vowed to scuttle the Democratic agenda and step up oversight of President Joe Biden’s administration as speaker.
Before deciding to support McCarthy, the Republican dissidents made a number of requests, including modifying the House rules so that any member may propose a motion of no confidence in the speaker.
They also sought a bigger say on the House Rules and Appropriations committees, which would allow them to influence the US government budget and help decide which bills can move forward in the chamber. Details of the possible deal that saw most of them change their votes in favour of McCarthy remain unclear.
