Republican Kevin McCarthy convinced a large number of party rebels to fall in line behind the offer to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives, but still fell just short of clinching the position in 13 historical ballots.
Momentum for McCarthy comes as the race for leadership of the lower house of Congress enters its fourth consecutive day. It’s unclear whether California’s congressman can win over some of the remaining hardliners.
McCarthy has had several rounds of concessions to his critics, including changes to the rules that will make it easier to call for a vote of no confidence in the future Speaker, and the promise of plum committee assignments for members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.
The effort saw more than half of the 20 Republicans who opposed the speaker in the previous round, including North Carolina’s Dan Bishop and Florida’s Byron Donalds. The hope for McCarthy and his allies is that the increase in numbers will increase the pressure on the remaining supporters to withdraw.
Scott Perry of Pennsylvania tweeted after the vote: “We are at a turning point. right. The framework for agreement is in place, so in good faith, I voted to restore the People’s House by voting for McCarthy.
But the resistance of seven members of the party itself remains steadfast and defiant – enough to scupper the chance to win the gavel in the House in the first round of voting on Saturday.
Bob Good, a Virginia Republican who has been among the dissidents, said before the vote that he would not support McCarthy “at any time”.
“The whole fact is he doesn’t have 218, he won’t have 218, and the sooner he surrenders to that fact, the sooner we can move forward as a conference and start debating, vetting and establishing . . .[alternative]candidate,” he said.
Good said he would like to see Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, as Speaker, but suggested that other members should propose Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican and member of the House Republican Leadership, as a possible candidate. “There are members who support him, I think they should name him, nominate him, and vote him.”
Although McCarthy has made major concessions in recent years, there is still a “lack of confidence” in his willingness to follow through, Good said. “They don’t believe in anything they agree to, so they’ll do it only under duress because they’re desperate.”
The last time it took more than one round of voting to elect the Speaker was 1923, when it took nine ballots. If the stalemate is not broken, the process could continue until the end of the week. The House is constitutionally required to elect a Speaker, and cannot move on to any legislative business until someone is given the gavel.
Republican infighting has exposed long-simmering tensions in a party grappling with how to move forward after a relatively disappointing performance in November’s midterm elections.
McCarthy found himself in a difficult position because the “red tide” he and others had predicted did not materialize, and Republicans now control the House by a slim margin.
The gridlock in the House has also raised questions about how Congress will function for the next two years, and whether McCarthy or other Speakers will be able to wrangle the warring factions of the party to pass any legislation.
One of the looming threats is a possible debt crisis later this year. Economists have predicted that the US economy risks default in the third quarter if lawmakers do not agree to raise the limit on government debt.