At the beginning of the week, Kevin McCarthy was one vote short of being elected House Speaker. Five individuals who swore they would not vote for McCarthy was one too many. Prior to the vote, former President Donald Trump had urged Republicans to unite and vote for McCarthy, whom Trump felt qualified to head the House. McCarthy did not receive the requisite number of votes when the vote was rerun.
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who dislikes McCarthy, suggested Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for speaker.
Tuesday, McCarthy lost three elections for speaker. Twenty Republicans abandoned the party in the final vote to support Jordan. In a scenario of party split not seen in quite a while, McCarthy is the only Speaker candidate to lose his party’s support in 100 years.
Gaetz stated Tuesday that he and other anti-McCarthy Republicans were “threatened” that if they would not back the California Republican McCarthy’s quest for speaker, they would be “removed from committees.”
Voting will resume Wednesday, as party Republicans seek to unite their members in the House.
Goetz is adamantly opposed to McCarthy and views his inability to secure sufficient votes as a last farewell. He remarked that “it seems Mr. McCarthy can no longer be considered Speaker-Designate following today’s balloting.” Goetz will thus pursue McCarthy in whatever manner possible. Gaetz has inquired as to how long McCarthy will continue to occupy the speaker’s office until he is “considered a squatter.”
McCarthy remains in his position despite the present vote.
Rep. Matt Gaetz has filed a letter requesting to know why fellow Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy is occupying the Office of the Speaker of the House despite not having been elected to the position. “How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?” Gaetz asked about McCarthy in a letter Tuesday to Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton, who oversees Capitol building operations, Just the News reports.
The Speaker of the House Office in the Capitol is currently being occupied by Kevin McCarthy.
Kevin McCarthy is not the Speaker of the House. He lost 3 consecutive votes today.
I’m demanding answers from the Architect of the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/AIZ8bFks6W
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 4, 2023
Goetz has requested a speedy response to the request.
McCarthy has lost all three voting sessions in the House floor battle for the speakership, which is unprecedented in the last century. According to the New York Times, there is no clear method for resolving the Republican vote impasse. McCarthy and his friends have been working behind closed doors to get the votes, and McCarthy told the Times that he had spoken with former President Donald Trump, who had backed him but remained mute during Tuesday’s string of defeats.
Former President Trump issued a statement on the topic today:
“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN.” He beseeched Republicans not to “TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT.” “Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!”
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
For now, a mutiny waged by ultra conservative lawmakers who for weeks have held fast to their vow to oppose Mr. McCarthy has paralyzed the chamber at the dawn of Republican rule, delaying the swearing in of hundreds of members of congress, putting off any legislative work and exposing deep divisions that threatened to make the party’s House majority ungovernable.
McCarthy has vowed not to back down until he secures the speakership, raising the prospect of a grueling stretch of votes that could go on for days. “I’m staying until we win,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters between the second and third votes on Tuesday. :I know the path.” CONTINUE READING…