The voting in the 188th Congress for the Speaker of the House has just concluded. For the first time since 1923, a House Speaker will not be elected on this first round of votes. A century ago, it took nine rounds of voting to settle on a Speaker. Back in 1855, it took 133 rounds of voting.
Speaker vote goes to a second ballot for first time since 1923. More GOPers voting against McCarthy than expected. Some of that is natural because we expected more of a protest on the second ballot
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 3, 2023
This does not bode well for GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, particularly since the initial five members who were holdouts, which included Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, has now ballooned to 19. Currently, Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries leads in votes by 212 to McCarthy’s 203—a nine-point spread.
The 19 Republican “no’s” for McCarthy on the first vote are:
Here are the 19 House Rs who voted vs. McCarthy:
Andy Biggs
Dan Bishop
Lauren Boebert
Josh Brecheen
Mike Cloud
Andrew Clyde
Eli Crane
Matt Gaetz
Bob Good
Paul Gosar
Andy Harris
Anna Paulina Luna
Mary Miller
Ralph Norman
Andy Ogles
Scott Perry
Matt Rosendale
Chip Roy
Keith Self— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) January 3, 2023
The 19 Republicans who are not on board voted primarily for Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona (11 votes). Others went with Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, and Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York.
Biggs tweeted:
We barely got through half the ballot before confirming that McCarthy is still well short of 218 votes.
My colleagues have made clear that our party deserves a new leader.
McCarthy should stand down and allow us to select someone else in the next ballot.
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) January 3, 2023
McCarthy has hard work ahead of him to persuade 15 of those 19 to vote for him in the second round. The business of the House remains in the balance until then, with committee chairmanships, swearing-in of newly-elected representatives, and any other significant voting remaining on hold until a Speaker of the House is selected.
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