- Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the Speakership has been rejected for the 11th time.
- The House adjourned for the third time this week without electing a Speaker.
- McCarthy’s opponents say they don’t trust him to run against President Joe Biden.
WASHINGTON: Hard-line Republicans in the US House of Representatives rejected Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid for the 11th time on Thursday, as his supporters worked behind closed doors in hopes of cementing a deal that would May success be achieved.
The vote plunged the House into a level of dysfunction not seen since the tumultuous period just before the Civil War, even as McCarthy offered to curb his power, giving the party power There were questions about the ability to walk.
After the 11th round of voting, the House adjourned without electing a Speaker for the third time this week. Lawmakers will reconvene on Friday at noon.
McCarthy’s opponents say they don’t trust him to fight for deep spending cuts and sanctions on President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
But some Republicans hoped for a deal between the California Republican and 20 hardline conservatives who have opposed his candidacy after the ballot.
“Things are coming together in a very healthy way,” said Representative Patrick McHenry, a McCarthy supporter who is set to lead the top congressional committee.
“We don’t know the time frame. But there is engagement and that’s why I’m optimistic,” he said.
Among other things, a possible deal would allow members of Congress to vote on term limits, according to Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
But McCarthy supporters stopped short of predicting a resolution. A stalemate Any time soon
With the failure to elect a leader, the 435-seat House has been rendered impotent — unable even to formally swear in newly elected members to skip hearings, consider legislation or Check out Biden and his administration.
Republicans won a slim 222-212 majority in November’s midterm elections, meaning McCarthy can’t afford to lose the support of more than four Republicans as Democrats coalesce around their nominee.
McCarthy, Backed by former President Donald Trump for the post, the holdouts offered a series of concessions that would weaken the role of the speaker, who political allies warned would make the job more difficult if he got it.
At least 200 Republicans have backed McCarthy in every vote this week. Less than 10 percent of Republican lawmakers voted against him, but they were enough to override the 218 votes a Democrat needed to win. Nancy Pelosi as a speaker.
“What you’re seeing on this floor doesn’t mean we’re inactive,” Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said as she nominated McCarthy’s opponent, Byron Donalds, for the 10th vote.
‘Make a strait jacket’
“I can tell you there are some good things happening,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, one of the most outspoken conservatives in the House and a McCarthy supporter. “I think we’re going to see some movement.”
But some of McCarthy’s opponents showed no sign of yielding.
“It ends up going one of two ways: Either Kevin McCarthy drops out of the race or we create a straitjacket that he’s not willing to avoid,” said Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz. said Gaetz, who voted for Trump for speaker.
As speaker, McCarthy will assume a position that typically sets the chamber’s agenda and is second in line to the presidency after Vice President Kamala Harris. He would be empowered to frustrate Biden’s legislative agenda and launch an investigation into the president’s family and administration in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
In a late-night bargaining session, McCarthy offered holdouts more influence over what legislation came up for a vote, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
He also offered the ability to vote out a single member who could potentially remove him from office. The move helped push at least one former Republican, Speaker John Boehner, into retirement.
Those concessions may help McCarthy win over some holdouts but will make him more vulnerable to hardliners over the next two years if he ultimately wins the speakership.
It has even unnerved some Democrats, who have largely acted as bystanders in the drama of the past three days.
“With every concession, he has to wake up every day wondering if he’s still going to get his job,” Democratic Representative Richard Neal told reporters.
The failure to agree on a leader also raises questions about whether Republicans will force a government shutdown later this year or risk a default to pull out the steep spending cuts. Some holdouts say they expect McCarthy or any Republican leader to take that approach.
If McCarthy fails to unite Republicans, he will have to find an alternative. Among the possibilities are No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan, who have both endorsed McCarthy. Jordan received 20 votes when nominated by Holdout on Tuesday.