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- Rep. Kevin McCarthy is fighting an uphill battle to become House speaker.
- On Tuesday, he lost an initial ballot for the top post.
- Nineteen Republicans voted against McCarthy’s bid for speaker.
Embattled Republican leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday kicked off the 118th Congress by losing the initial ballot to become House speaker, ushering in a chaotic start to the GOP-led chamber as hardline conservatives, who insist they can’t trust him, blocked his bid.
Nineteen of McCarthy’s colleagues voted against handing him control of the chamber they collectively flipped in November, torpedoing the nine-term California Republican’s quickest path to victory in the narrowly divided House.
Those opposed to McCarthy put forth a number of names for the top post, including Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana, among others.
The procedural slap-in-the-face automatically bumps McCarthy into the fraternity of House speakers who needed to do more horse-trading in order to sew up their own contested candidacies. The vote also marks the first time in 100 years that the House failed to elect a speaker on an initial ballot.
The death of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin in late November dropped the number of lawmakers in the House to 434 members — which means McCarthy still needs 218 votes to get promoted outright.
After spending months offering detractors like protest candidate Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and anti-McCarthy agitator Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida just about anything they want in exchange for a glidepath to his dream job, McCarthy’s instead seen the chorus of naysayers actually snowball.
Nine others — including congressional newcomers Republicans Eli Crane of Arizona, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Andy Ogles of Tennessee — joined the fray on Sunday, signing off on a joint letter shooting down McCarthy’s latest peace offerings.
Ahead of the first vote on Tuesday, McCarthy lashed out at House Republicans who he said recently tried to do some arm-twisting of their own by demanding plum committee assignments and bigger budgets from him.
“I will always fight to put the American people first, not a few individuals who want something for themselves,” McCarthy told reporters after a contentious conference-wide meeting at the US Capitol, adding: “I’m not going anywhere.”
McCarthy earlier on Tuesday said that he won’t give up on seeking the top job, suggesting additional votes may take place to elect him, which could drag out the process for an uncertain amount of time.
The drama unfolds as the 118th Congress begins on Tuesday, welcoming 82 new members. Lawmakers, however, cannot take their oaths of office until a House speaker is elected.
“I have the record for the longest speech ever on the floor,” McCarthy told reporters. “I don’t have a problem getting a record for the most votes for speaker too.”
McCarthy supporter Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia joined in on the internecine sniping, fuming that Gaetz, Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and other anti-McCarthy members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus were dooming her best shot at getting assigned to the committees she wants after House Democrats stripped her of panel seats in the previous session.
“I’m the only Republican who has zero committees,” she said earlier Tuesday, according to CNN.
Here are the 19 Republicans who voted against McCarthy:
- Andy Biggs of Arizona
- Dan Bishop of North Carolina
- Lauren Boebert of Colorado
- Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma
- Michael Cloud of Texas
- Andrew Clyde of Georgia
- Eli Crane of Arizona
- Matt Gaetz of Florida
- Bob Good of Virginia
- Paul Gosar of Arizona
- Andy Harris of Maryland
- Anna Paulina Luna of Florida
- Mary Miller of Illinois
- Ralph Norman of South Carolina
- Andy Ogles of Tennessee
- Scott Perry of Pennsylvania
- Matt Rosendale of Montana
- Chip Roy of Texas
- Keith Self of Texas
