First time in 100 years Speaker of House not elected in the first day

First time in 100 years Speaker of House not elected in the first day

Written by Peter Boykin on January 3, 2023

First time in 100 years Speaker of House not elected in the first day

Shared By Peter Boykin – American Political Commentator / Citizen Journalist

First time in 100 years Speaker of House not elected in the first day

McCarthy is Not Out Yet

The House adjourned without a speaker for the first time in a century after Kevin McCarthy failed in a third straight vote for the gavel.

Staring down a threadbare majority, McCarthy has been unable to dislodge dug-in opposition from the right flank of his conference, who are now openly pushing for conservative hero Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to take the gavel.

“I think it’s going to be increasingly clear that he’s not going to be speaker. We will never cave,” Rep. Bob Good said after conservatives blocked McCarthy from winning the gavel, urging him to drop out.

Unlike in the first round of voting – where McCarthy picked up undecided House Freedom Caucus members, including Reps.

McCarthy acknowledged on that it “Could” last for days, while one of his opponents, Rep. Ralph Norman, said they could persist for “Six more months.” In the meantime, the House GOP risks a chaotic floor fight, with no rules of the chamber yet in place.

The substantial bloc of opposition against McCarthy marks an increase from the day prior, when only five House Republicans had publicly declared they would vote against their party leader.

Roy, one of McCarthy’s chief antagonists, spoke up to defend his position – and lashed out against Rogers’ remarks about keeping fellow Republicans off committees, shouting profanities at his colleague.

Roy wasn’t the only Republican vowing to vote against McCarthy to speak up.

Perry offered blistering criticism of McCarthy just before the meeting, saying conservatives had asked for several concessions like commitments on committee seats that, in turn, would get him to 218 votes, but that the California Republican declined.

In a significant win for conservatives, McCarthy set the number of Republican backers needed to force a vote on deposing the speaker at five, to the dismay of some rank-and-file members.

Others, like Rep. Don Bacon, have floated that if conservatives block McCarthy, they could work with a band of centrist Democrats to elect a more moderate Republican instead. For now, Democrats have no plans to intervene to help McCarthy or another Republican as their party flails.

Shared by

#GoRightNews https://GoRightNews.com