The 118th Congress got off to a wild start today as Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy failed to get the votes he needed in three rounds of balloting to pick the new speaker of the House. Nineteen hard-right Republicans opposed McCarthy on the first and second ballots, marking the first time in a century that the majority party’s nominee has suffered such a defeat.
The opposition grew to 20 on the third ballot, as McCarthy’s foes backed Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio even after Jordan nominated and expressed his support for McCarthy. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York actually received more votes than the GOP leader on all three ballots, though Jeffries also fell short of a majority.
The House then adjourned until noon tomorrow.
Tuesday’s votes followed what was a very tense, closed-door meeting of the House Republican conference that reportedly involved some shouting and cursing as the 57-year-old McCarthy argued he had earned the speaker’s gavel, which he has long coveted. “I’ve covered a number of these closed-door meetings. This is about as contentious as it gets,” CNN’s Manu Raju said.
Who’s blocking McCarthy’s bid: “The revolt against Mr. McCarthy,” Catie Edmondson of The New York Times reports, “has been led by a small coterie of ultraconservative lawmakers who have been the most outspoken about their opposition to him. It also includes a larger but quieter group of lawmakers who have long agitated for changes in the way the House operates, and a set of newcomers who have remained largely silent but are weighing their options.”
Most of the Republican rebels are members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, a group that forced out former Speaker John Boehner in 2015 and scuttled McCarthy’s bid to become speaker then as well.
What the GOP fight is about: A number of McCarthy’s opponents have railed against the “status quo” in Congress and have pointed to last month’s speedy passage of a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill as a prime example of legislative malpractice. Many of McCarthy’s anti-establishment opponents reportedly demanded changes that would allow an open amendment process for legislation — and give them more power or specific committee assignments. Yet the numerous concessions they won from McCarthy were not enough to get them to yes. In some cases, the opposition was reportedly rooted in personal differences.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) said in a statement that the hardliners had sought conservative representation on committees and “firm commitments” for votes on a balanced budget, a Texas border plan, congressional term limits and legislation called the Fair Tax Act, which would eliminate funding for the Internal Revenue Service after fiscal year 2025 and replace the federal income tax with a national sales tax.