McCarthy's path to speakership narrows after marathon defeats

House set to reconvene Wednesday

Kevin McCarthy

What is usually a routine vote on the first day of a new Congress descended into chaos on Tuesday, as the House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday after a marathon of unsuccessful votes to elect a new Speaker.

After pleading with some skeptics within his own caucus, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy was still unable to earn a majority of votes to become Speaker of the House.

It is a phenomenon that has not unfolded in over a century: every Speaker since 1923 has been elected on the first ballot.

But McCarthy, a Republican from California, was unable to secure a majority of votes after three ballots to earn the top job on Capitol Hill. As many as 20 of his GOP colleagues voted against McCarthy, putting him well below the 218 votes he needs to claim the gavel.

CNN’s Jake Tapper pointed out that McCarthy earned fewer votes for Speaker this time than he did in 2021 — when his party was still in the minority.

Many of McCarthy’s detractors are far-right members who are looking to weaken the speakership. Their demands include gutting the congressional ethics watchdog, being appointed to key committees and passing term limits legislation. They are also seeking the power to oust the Speaker at any time.

Georgia’s Andrew Clyde is among the McCarthy critics. The Athens Republican supported Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs on the first ballot, but he joined the other detractors in voting for Ohio’s Jim Jordan on the successive ballots.

The GOP caucus meeting before Tuesday’s vote got very heated, with McCarthy apparently using profanity as he addressed many of his detractors. One of them, Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert, emerged from the meeting saying that her colleagues are being “sworn at” instead of being sworn in.

So far, McCarthy has kept his promise to fight this out until the very end — as many of his allies are encouraging him to do. But the House is unable to function as a chamber until a Speaker is elected, and his detractors seem unlikely to buckle any time soon.

One McCarthy ally, Republican Byron Donalds of Florida, did not vote for him on the third ballot. He later admitted to reporters that the GOP Leader does not have the votes to become Speaker.

The House will reconvene once again on Wednesday. And unless McCarthy bows out, we are likely to see another series of unsuccessful votes. The Speaker’s gavel is still very much up for grabs, but it seems unlikely that it will be in Kevin McCarthy’s hands.