US: Kevin McCarthy loses speaker votes

• Kevin McCarthy repeatedly failed in his bid to be elected Speaker.
• The California congressman has so far lost three consecutive votes for speaker.
• Republicans who follow politics claim that the gap has been building for a while.

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy repeatedly failed in his bid to be elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives on a day of political theatre not witnessed in Congress in a century.

On Tuesday evening, the House adjourned without electing a speaker, the first time this had happened since the first round of elections in 1923.

The beginning of a new Congress was meant to be the Republican Party’s victory lap after winning control of the lower chamber in the elections held in November. Instead, Mr. McCarthy encountered an internal uprising and made history for all the wrong reasons.

The California congressman has so far lost three consecutive votes for speaker, and it’s uncertain how he might succeed when the House reconvenes on Wednesday. They will keep voting until a majority is reached.

Analysts caution that even if Mr. McCarthy finds a way, the unrest on the House floor portends a turbulent two years of conflict between moderate and right-wing Republicans.

Negotiations gave him a weak appearance

Republicans narrowly took control of the House in November, therefore Mr. McCarthy’s campaign to become Speaker was successful with a small margin of victory. That made it possible for a group of staunch conservatives to unite and reject his nomination.

Republicans who follow politics claim that the gap has been building for a while.

One Republican lobbyist who wanted to talk openly about Tuesday’s vote sought anonymity. “Kevin McCarthy has not made friends with some sectors of the caucus for a while, he’s made a lot of enemies,” the lobbyist said. There are others who dislike him for both personal and political grounds.

McCarthy engaged in conversations with those who oppose him because they believe he is too mainstream and power-hungry, making concessions in an effort to earn their support. He apparently agreed to amend the House rules at one time to make it simpler to remove a Speaker who is in office, giving his rivals a significant check on his authority.

The Republican lobbyist claimed that the fact that the man was even negotiating with the Republicans “made him look very, very weak to the point of being desperate.”

His adversaries grow more confident

On Tuesday, it became apparent that strategy was fruitless.

Mr. McCarthy failed to receive the necessary 218 votes in three consecutive votes. Republicans currently command 222 seats, but a group of 19 hard-right Republicans have united to oppose him. They disagree with Mr. McCarthy on intellectual and personal grounds, but they also see a chance to take advantage of the Republican Party’s slim majority to compel him to make further compromises.

Representative Rob Good, a Republican from Virginia, assured reporters on Tuesday that they will “never back down.”

Just moments after Representative Jim Jordan proposed Mr. McCarthy for Speaker, they even nominated Mr. Jordan’s challenger, Rep. Jim Jordan, in one of the day’s most dramatic moments.

In the third round of voting, even though Mr. Jordan, a prominent member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, asked Republicans to “unite around” Mr. McCarthy, 20 Republicans still voted for Mr. Jordan, denying Mr. McCarthy the victory.

In the meantime, Democrats stuck together behind their party’s new leader, New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries.

A few couldn’t resist publicly making fun of their Republican counterparts’ trying afternoon. Democrats were “breaking the popcorn out,” claimed one congressman, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, in a tweet that included a picture of the snack as proof.

What choices does McCarthy currently have?

Theoretical speculation about how this could all turn out has started among political analysts in Washington. Their forecasts to the BBC ranged from the realistic (Mr. McCarthy fights through and prevails, but leaves the contest very depleted) to the completely improbable (he bows out and backs his second in command, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana). One suggestion was almost fantastical (five Republicans decide to vote for Mr Jeffries, a Democrat, and deliver him control of the House).

Right now, according to Ruth Bloch Rubin, a political scientist at the University of Chicago who specialises in polarisation, Mr. McCarthy is “basically prisoner to one wing of his party.”

Although Mr. McCarthy has vowed to stop making concessions, he might not have a choice. He might offer lucrative committee assignments or new leadership positions in an effort to sway recalcitrant lawmakers.

Aaron Cutler, a lobbyist who had worked for former congressman Eric Cantor, another politician who was overthrown by conservative opposition, said, “He’s got to give the people who are against him something to hang their hat on.” However, the second Republican lobbyist was of the opinion that there was “absolutely no path to victory, period.”

On Wednesday, members will meet once more, although it’s uncertain whether the impasse will end.

Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, one of the conservative holdouts, told reporters, “We haven’t heard anything fresh from McCarthy.” So I suppose we’ll just carry on as before.

Also Read

McCarthy set to lead delegation to southern border before Title 42 is taken off

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday that he will lead...