Kevin McCarthy Fails on 9th House Ballot — First Time in 200 Years
The often-raucous House chamber was left in a sleepy state of suspended animation Thursday as members failed to elect a speaker for the ninth time in a little over 48 hours and proceeded to a 10th ballot for the first time in nearly 200 years.
About half the House scrolled through their phones as they voted on the ninth ballot, apparently bored with the lack of progress over the last three days. In fact, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy lost another vote when Rep.-elect Ken Buck of Colorado excused himself for a doctor’s appointment, leaving the Californian on 200 votes — down from 201 earlier in the day.
Though McCarthy reportedly gave in to demands overnight by a contingent of hardline conservative Republicans blocking his bid for the gavel, the floor fight was no closer to a resolution. During the ninth vote, 17 of the 20 Republican members opposing McCarthy voted for Rep.-elect Byron Donalds of Florida and three voted for Rep.-elect Kevin Hern of Oklahoma.
As on the previous three ballots, Rep.-elect Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) voted “present,” lowering the magic number for any candidate by one from the 218 threshold needed on Tuesday’s first three ballots.
House Democrats remained united in their support of Brooklyn and Queens Rep.-elect Hakeem Jeffries, giving him all 212 of their votes for the seventh, eighth and ninth consecutive ballots. (Read more from “Kevin McCarthy Fails on 9th House Ballot — First Time in 200 Years” HERE)
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
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