House Adjourns After McCarthy Fails to Win on 11th Speaker Vote, Wild Nomination for Trump

It isn’t over yet. The process to decide who will be the Speaker of the House for the 118th Congress will roll into Friday, as the lower chamber voted Thursday evening to adjourn until noon EST Friday, on a motion by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA). That was about the only thing they could get consensus on.

Earlier on Thursday, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California reportedly agreed to several concessions the hold-out members were seeking–a move which led to some believing this could move the needle on gaining votes in his direction. But as my colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell wrote (see: Despite Supposed Concessions to the 20, Ballot No. 7 Did Not Put Kevin McCarthy Over the Finish Line), the votes failed to materialize for McCarthy.

She also mentioned in her update piece, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) cast his vote for former President Donald Trump. He did so again on a subsequent ballot, according to CBS News.

Then, during the 11th round of voting, Gaetz nominated Donald Trump for Speaker. His full nomination speech is below:

I’m formally nominating President Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the House.

Make the House of Representatives Great Again! pic.twitter.com/HZJ4Mqc1bi

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 5, 2023

Earlier, Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Good also put forward Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK)’s name for nomination, who has been supporting McCarthy (you can watch Good’s full remarks on the House floor at the link, above).

Good has made his opposition to McCarthy’s election to the Speakership no secret throughout the Speaker voting. As he told followers via social media earlier in the day:

Contrary to what the Establishment elites claim, Kevin McCarthy is not the only person who can be Speaker.

We need someone strong who can lead the fight and save the country.

— Congressman Bob Good (@RepBobGood) January 5, 2023

In the end, McCarthy failed for a third day to reach the necessary votes (217, at last count) to become Speaker, with the final tally for candidates: “[Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem] Jeffries received 212 votes, while McCarthy received 200 votes. Trump received one vote, others received 19, and one member voted present.” The House will be back at it on Friday.