After losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, losing, for 14 consecutive votes to become Speaker of the 118th US House of Representatives, Bakersfield, Ca Congressman Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker on the 15th vote.
This is the first time in a century that a vote to elect a speaker took so many attempts. The last a speaker was not elected on the first ballot was in 1923, where In 1923, it was Frederick H. Gillett of Massachusetts was elected on the 9th ballot, according to NPR.
On the 14th vote, McCarthy thought he had it in the bag but fell short by one vote when Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a McCarthy hater, voted “present,” bringing a total of votes cast against him to 6, with four of the votes going to somebody else.
McCarthy either needed another member from the group that voted for someone else to vote present or flip the vote in his favor.
The election comes on January 7, a day after the 2nd anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, in which many Republicans in Congress were implicated.
McCarthy won by garnering 216 votes, while his Democratic opponent Hakeem Jeffries of New York, garnered 212 votes after all Democrats voted for him as a block.
Six recalcitrant Republicans voted “present,” clearing the way for McCarthy to become speaker without voting for him.
“My father always said it’s not how you start, but rather how you finish,” McCarthy declared in his victory speech.
McCarthy’s chaotic walk-of-shame to the speakership, which saw multiple caucus members outrightly and publicly reject his leadership, came after cutting deals with the rebels, essentially turning him into a lame-duck speaker on day one.
According to Vox,
McCarthy has made deals covering three broad areas.
First: McCarthy made promises about how he would approach government-spending-related issues like appropriations bills and the debt ceiling, and those promises appear to set the stage for tense showdowns with Democrats.
Second: McCarthy agreed to a change in the House rules that would make it easier to trigger an effective no-confidence vote in his own leadership.
Third: McCarthy agreed to committee assignments demanded by the holdouts, including placing Republicans associated with the hardline Freedom Caucus on the powerful Rules Committee.
The second deal is particularly puzzling. Why would McCarthy make a deal that undercuts him as a speaker?
The New York Times headline summarized it well. “McCarthy, all carrots and no sticks, grinned his way to the speakership.”
It appears McCarthy is more interested in becoming a speaker than playing the role of the leader of a legislative arm of the government. And to appease his recalcitrant right-wing members, McCarthy has agreed to give them unprecedented powers to head committees that would be a thorn in President Joe Biden’s side.
Top on their agenda is not curbing inflation or fixing the immigration crisis, but rather investigations.
In his acceptance speech, McCarthy promised to investigate the origins of Covid-19, a thinly veiled threat toward Dr. Anthony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to the US President, whom conservatives blame for forcing unnecessary lockdowns on the country.
Also on their investigation target list is Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, whom they allege committed national security crimes while working in a Ukrainian company.
According to the conservative Washington Times newspaper, McCarthy also caved to the demands of his caucus to refuse to increase the debt ceiling in the future to force the Biden administration to cut spending.
With the slim disjointed majority, it’ll be interesting to see how McCarthy will manage the House against much more disciplined and united Democrats.
McCarthy, 57, takes the speakers gavel from Nancy Pelosi, the first woman ever elected to the position and considered one of the most effective speakers in US history.
Here’s a list of all US House of Representatives Speakers through history.