- Ryan Clark rants about Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy’s accountability USA TODAY
- ‘I want to run the damn ball’: Mike McCarthy outlines surprising vision shift for Cowboys’ offense in his play-calling return Yahoo Sports
- Mike McCarthy takes over play calling next season, NFLPA releases team report cards | NFL | THE HERD The Herd with Colin Cowherd
- TCU QB Max Duggan would love to join Dallas Cowboys, compares his play to Jalen Hurts Fort Worth Star-Telegram
- “Product of Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre” – Skip Bayless labels Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy a ‘fraud’ Sportskeeda
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Tag Archives: McCarthys
January 6th Committee Members Blast Kevin McCarthy’s Move To Give Tucker Carlson Access To Capitol Surveillance Footage – Deadline
- January 6th Committee Members Blast Kevin McCarthy’s Move To Give Tucker Carlson Access To Capitol Surveillance Footage Deadline
- McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson access to January 6 Capitol security footage, sources say CNN
- What we know about McCarthy’s decision to grant Tucker Carlson exclusive access to Jan. 6 security camera footage Yahoo News
- What did Fox News bigwigs really think about Trump’s fraudulent election claims? Poynter
- McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson exclusive access to Jan. 6 riot video The Washington Post
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Jerry Jones: Playoff loss changes nothing about Mike McCarthy’s status
For the second straight postseason, the Cowboys lost to the 49ers. For the second straight postseason, the game ended with a questionable offensive decision from coach Mike McCarthy, an expert in offense. But the curious effort to set up a Stanford band-style play that never even got going will not have serious consequences for the man who drew it up.
Asked by reporters after the 19-12 loss whether the outcome changes anything for owner Jerry Jones about McCarthy’s status, Jones said, “No. No. No, not at all.”
Last year’s wild-card loss to the 49ers ended with a quarterback draw that was aimed at giving Dallas a realistic final shot at the end zone. But the execution didn’t account for the fact that the umpire had to get through the quarterback and the center in order to set the ball before it was snapped and spiked, ostensibly to stop the clock with at least one second left.
This year, in lieu of a Hail Mary (which had a very small chance of succeeding given that the play started 76 yards from paydirt), McCarthy had a unique formation aimed at sparking a parade of laterals, with running back Ezekiel Elliott serving as the center and then, presumably, one of the men to get the ball as part of a chain of hot-potato pitches.
But Zeke was blown up and receiver KaVontae Turpin was tackled almost immediately, before even one lateral could be attempted. Thus, no matter how it looked on the whiteboard, it was a disaster on the field.
Beyond the design and execution of the final play, failure of coaching and attention to detail emerged twice on the drive, with tight end Dalton Schultz both failing to get out of bounds properly after making a catch and then getting out of bounds a little too quickly, before he got his second foot down after securing a reception.
Yes, it’s on the player when mistakes like that happen. It’s also on the coaching staff to hammer those details into the brains of the players in order to ensure that, when everything matters most, everything that needs to happen happens like clockwork.
Regardless, based on what Jones said after the game, McCarthy will be back for a fourth season as coach of the Cowboys.
The thing about Jerry Jones is that he will completely, totally, and unconditionally support a player or a coach until the moment he no longer does. And that moment can, in theory, come at any time.
Kevin McCarthy’s concessions could lead GOP to a budget standoff
“That is the biggest challenge in this Congress,” said Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.), a top ally to McCarthy, shortly after the speaker vote, adding that “debt, deficit and the fiscal house — that is a major priority for House Republicans.”
In the hours before the 15th and final speaker vote, Republicans sketched out the early contours of what they might pursue over the next year — slashing spending by billions of dollars, largely targeting federal health, education, labor and other domestic agencies that Democrats say are already underfunded.
Some GOP lawmakers even signaled they would insist on these reductions — along with other, more structural changes to federal entitlement programs — in exchange for voting to lift the debt ceiling. That cap is the statutory limit on how much the U.S. government can borrow to pay its existing bills, and lawmakers must act to raise or suspend it — otherwise the country will default, which many experts fear would set off a global fiscal calamity.
“Make no mistake, the debt ceiling issue in and of itself is intended to leverage better policies moving forward as it relates to spending,” said Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), who is vying to lead the top tax-focused committee in the House. “I think we shouldn’t shy away from that.”
The new threats raised the prospect of a political confrontation with sky-high stakes, since a misstep could trigger financial havoc and a full-fledged recession. More than a decade ago, the mere possibility that the U.S. might not be able to pay its bills rattled markets worldwide, while costing American taxpayers more than $1 billion.
Citing those past standoffs, many Democrats this week issued their own ultimatums: They said they are willing to discuss federal spending with their newly empowered GOP counterparts, but they would not haggle over the debt ceiling.
“I think the president has been very clear and will continue to be clear: There’s no negotiating over whether or not the United States pays its bills on time,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the chamber’s appropriations committee.
“That is an obligation every member needs to take seriously,” he continued. “We will repeat, again and again, there is a line in the sand here, and we’re not going to give the extreme Republicans their wish list in exchange for them simply allowing the country to pay its bills on time.”
McCarthy’s election in the early hours of Saturday morning nonetheless emboldened House Republicans, having overcome their fierce ideological divides — at least for the moment. Speaking to reporters after clinching the outcome, McCarthy said the political discord that characterized the debate over the past week had been instructive, helping the party “build the trust with one another” needed to govern.
It will fall now to McCarthy to keep Republicans united in a chamber where the GOP’s majority is razor thin — and, as his rocky rise demonstrated, conservatives wield immense power. Many of these lawmakers expect McCarthy to deliver on a vast array of promises, including his commitment to cut spending and extract other policy concessions from a Democrat-led Senate and the White House. If he does not, the right-leaning bloc has the power to try to remove McCarthy as speaker.
Republicans must grapple with at least two key fiscal deadlines this year. They have to raise the debt ceiling before the government breaches the borrowing cap, which could occur as soon as this summer, according to Shai Akabas, the director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, noting that the exact date will depend on upcoming federal indicators.
But lawmakers must also work to fund federal agencies and programs before the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Democrats and Republicans adopted the current $1.7 trillion spending measure, known in legislative parlance as an omnibus, in the waning hours of 2022 — and a failure to replace it would shutter Washington in the fall.
While the issues are technically separate, Republicans have signaled early interest in fusing them together, raising the stakes in the event of congressional inaction. “We believe there ought to be specific, concrete limits on spending, attached to a debt ceiling increase,” stressed Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who had opposed McCarthy as speaker until he secured a number of concessions.
Entering those fights, some Republicans have pledged to pare back federal spending at least to levels adopted in the 2022 fiscal year, which would amount to billions of dollars in cuts compared with current expenditures. Others in the party said they also intend to produce a budget blueprint that balances the federal ledger — which last ran a $1.38 trillion deficit — over the next decade.
Democrats this week have decried the approach: Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top party lawmaker on the House Appropriations Committee, blasted it as a “backroom deal” that “kills the 2024 government funding process before it has even started, all but guaranteeing a shutdown.”
McCarthy has not shared in detail the extent of the promises he made with conservatives in pursuit of the speaker’s gavel; his office did not respond Saturday to a request for comment. But many GOP lawmakers this week have sounded increasingly bullish about their new sense of purpose in trying to drive a hard spending bargain with the White House.
“You can’t have a balanced budget unless you start cutting,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), another member of the House Freedom Caucus, promising to “look at every dollar.”
Nearly 12 years ago, a similar political dynamic swept through Washington — with what some would describe as catastrophic results. The 2010 election saw the rise of the austerity-minded tea party, as right-leaning pols took over the House and demanded steep spending cuts from then-President Barack Obama.
Republicans at one point in 2011 seized on the debt limit to force Democrats’ hand, refusing to raise the borrowing cap without significant spending cuts. The ultimatum itself carried vast, immediate consequences, costing taxpayers more than $1.3 billion, raising the costs of borrowing and sinking the Dow Jones industrial average by more than 2,000 points through the summer crisis.
To defuse the stalemate, Democrats ultimately agreed to a plan that cut and capped domestic spending for 10 years — an approach that some budget experts described as indiscriminate and harmful to Americans who rely on government services.
“The cuts were incredibly damaging,” said Sharon Parrott, the director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank, noting they fell hard on a wide array of agencies — from gutting child care spending to depleting the ranks of federal workers who oversee Social Security.
More than a decade later, the statutory spending caps have lifted — paving the way for Biden over the first two years of his presidency to seize on a Democratic majority and expand the budget significantly. Despite the recent boosts, however, Parrott acknowledged that some federal agencies and programs “haven’t in many respects recovered from what some of the cuts did.”
The debt itself still stands at more than $31 trillion, running a yearly shortfall of about $1 trillion or more for the past five fiscal years, according to the Treasury Department. While Republicans have blamed Democrats for the problem, the growing gap between what the country earns and spends is instead the result of both parties’ policymaking — from the $1.5 trillion tax cut package by GOP lawmakers in 2017 under President Donald Trump to the roughly $5 trillion in emergency coronavirus aid that began under Trump and culminated with Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
“This is a year where we should not be doing more borrowing,” said Maya MacGuineas, the leader of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which advocates for deficit reduction, citing recent spending and other factors including high inflation.
Yet MacGuineas acknowledged that the political climate may make it impossible to “govern in any of the ways we need to” — opening the door, perhaps, for a reprisal of the high-stakes showdowns of 2011.
“I see them quite similarly,” she said. “People are surfacing an issue that is very legitimate and important, which is the fiscal health of the country, but the approach and solution is reckless and unrealistic.”
Under Trump, when the government approached the borrowing cap, Republicans did not make similar spending demands at risk of fiscal calamity — and Democrats supplied votes to prevent a default. But GOP lawmakers did not always afford Democrats the same support under Biden, threatening to push the country to the fiscal brink at one point in 2021. At the time, Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, predicted that a default would wipe out up to 6 million jobs and as much as $15 trillion in household wealth.
This time, though, Democrats maintain they have learned their lesson — and say they aren’t willing to negotiate significant concessions around spending in exchange for averting a catastrophic outcome.
“Democrats have learned their lesson over the last decade, and we understand we’re entering a period of great risk,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a member of his chamber’s appropriations committee. “It set a precedent that was unique in American history, in which one party threatened the global economy and actually got a bunch of political concessions in exchange for their belligerence, and at this point, we just have to say we’ve seen this movie before.”
Democrats also insist they are not willing to cut Social Security and Medicare, seizing on Republicans’ commitment to look at federal entitlement programs. In his statement congratulating McCarthy, Biden himself stressed that it is “imperative that we protect Social Security and Medicare, not slash them,” noting that the improvements in the economy since the pandemic could be at risk.
“It’s imperative that we continue that economic progress,” Biden said, “not set it back.”
Liz Goodwin contributed to this report.
House adjourns until 10 p.m. as GOP leaders work to secure McCarthy’s speakership
A look at the final GOP holdouts McCarthy hopes to sway
Six GOP members-elect remained opposed to McCarthy as he sought to secure enough support late Friday to become the next speaker of the House.
Supporters were working to win a couple of them over, which would almost certainly give McCarthy the majority he needs to finally win the job after four days of voting and the most rounds of ballots for a House speaker since before the Civil War.
The six have been quite critical of McCarthy, though about-faces are not uncommon in Washington. Even if some vote present, it could give McCarthy the margin he needs to win.
A look at the holdouts:
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to U.S. Rep Andy Biggs (R-AZ) inside the House Chamber during voting for a new Speaker on the third day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 5, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Andy Biggs of Arizona is the former chairman of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus. He not only challenged McCarthy during an initial, internal GOP vote for House speaker, but he was also a nominee himself in the first round of voting Tuesday. He won only 10 votes.
Biggs was reelected to a fourth term in the House after serving 14 years in the Arizona Legislature. In Congress, he’s built a reputation as a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and as a border enforcement hawk, filing articles of impeachment in the last Congress against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. McCarthy took up the cause in his push to become House speaker, saying that if Mayorkas didn’t resign, GOP-led investigations could lead to impeachment proceedings.
Biggs was also one of four lawmakers referred to the House Ethics Committee after they defied subpoenas from the House panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) nominates former President Donald Trump for Speaker of the House as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) watch inside the House Chamber on the third day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 5, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Matt Gaetz of Florida has been perhaps McCarthy’s most strident critic, to the point that Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill, jumped up and chided Gaetz on the House floor for his harsh denunciations of McCarthy during Friday’s debate. Gaetz has consistently depicted McCarthy as a Washington insider, calling McCarthy “the LeBron James of special interest fundraising in this town.”
Gaetz is a close ally of Trump who broke with him early when it comes to McCarthy. The House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into Gaetz in April as federal prosecutors probed sex trafficking allegations against him. Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
“If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise,” Gaetz said of McCarthy.
U.S. Rep.-elect Lauren Boebert (R-CO) delivers remarks in the House Chamber during the second day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 04, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
Lauren Boebert of Colorado is another Trump loyalist who established herself as a partisan rabble-rouser in Washington during her first term. She won a second term this year in a race that was much closer than expected, as her aggressive use of social media and willingness to engage in personal feuds was put to the test against a Democratic challenger who presented himself as a nonpartisan problem solver.
Boebert noted this week that “her favorite president,” a reference to Trump, has called on the anti-McCarthy holdouts to “knock this off,” but suggested an alternative.
“I think it actually needs to be reversed. The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy, ‘Sir, you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw,'” she said.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 3: Rep.-elect Bob Good (R-VA) arrives on the House floor in the Capitol before members of the 117th Congress are sworn in on January 3, 2021 in Washington, DC. Both chambers are holding rare Sunday sessions to open the new Congress on January 3 as the Constitution requires. (Photo By Bill Clark – Pool/Getty Images)
Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Bob Good of Virginia won office in 2020 after GOP voters ousted the Republican incumbent, Denver Riggleman, who had angered social conservatives by officiating a gay marriage.
Good, a former athletics official at evangelical Liberty University, was one of the first to say he would be opposing McCarthy, and that opposition continued into Friday when he wrote an op-ed in The New York Times declaring that he won’t back down.
“Throughout this process, one thing has become clear: Kevin McCarthy has failed to secure the trust of the entire Republican conference to be the leader who will fight to change the status quo in Washington. It is time for Republicans to move on,” Good wrote.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 06: U.S. Rep.-elect Matt Rosendale (R-MT) (C) talks to Rep.-elect Mark Green (R-TN) (R) and John Leganski, Deputy Chief of Staff for House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), in the House Chamber during the fourth day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is meeting to vote for the next Speaker after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to earn more than 218 votes on several ballots; the first time in 100 years that the Speaker was not elected on the first ballot. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Matt Rosendale of Montana is entering his second term in the House and says his constituents are lobbying him to change the leadership in Congress. He has backed former Trump’s false statements about fraud in the 2020 election and recently voted against U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, citing what he said are more pressing security needs along the southern border.
“I’ve said all along I’m not going to be supporting anyone for speaker that has played a part in the leadership team that has managed the demise of our country over the last 10 years,” Rosendale said.
Eli Crane of Utah is a former Navy SEAL who went on five wartime deployments and served for 13 years. In November, he defeated the Democratic incumbent, Tom O’Halleran, who had held the seat since 2017. He was the lone Republican freshman on Friday to refuse support for McCarthy.
Crane has run a small business turning spent machine gun ammunition into bottle openers and had the endorsement of Trump. He focused his campaign on securing the U.S.-Mexico border and election integrity.
— Associated Press
McCarthy backer encouraged by increasing support for the GOP leader
U.S. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) (2nd R) talks to Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) and other Representatives as they cast their votes for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 03, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., said he was pleased with House Republicans’ growing support for McCarthy after days of closed-door negotiations.
“I feel very optimistic after today and after the conversations, I was privileged to have with some people who had not been able to vote for Kevin who got on board for Kevin,” the Tennessee Republican told reporters outside the House chamber.
Fleischmann said he spoke with Reps. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Andy Harris, R-Md., whom he called “dear friends.”
“They got to yes as did other people,” he said. “I don’t want to say that I would take full credit for that but they got on board and I’m very very pleased I think that’s beneficial.”
McCarthy picked up 14 new votes Friday for a total of 214 before the House adjourned until 10 p.m.
— Chelsey Cox
House Democratic Whip tells lawmakers to prepare for late night
Incoming Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 13, 2022.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., told lawmakers to prepare for a late night if McCarthy wins the much coveted gavel.
Here’s the memo she sent to the Democratic caucus ahead of the House’s votes later tonight:
All Members should be present on the Floor at 10:00 p.m. for votes.
Tonight, following the Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, the next order of business is for the House to vote on the 14th Manual Roll Call Vote on the election of the Speaker of the House. If the Speaker is elected and receives the Oath of Office, they will administer the Oath to Members and Delegates. Members are advised that additional votes are possible if no candidate receives 218 votes.
If the Speaker is elected and Members are sworn in, it is expected the House would begin one hour of debate on H.Res. __ – Adopting the Rules of the 118th Congress, and for other purposes.
Following debate on the Rules Package, at approximately 1:45 – 2:15 a.m., the House would take votes on the Previous Question, Motion to Commit, and adoption of the Rules Package. These would be the last votes for the day.
Members are reminded that they should be prepared to stay in Washington, D.C. until a Speaker is elected.
— Dawn Kopecki
House Democrats condemn GOP stalemate over speaker selection
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks as members share the recollections on the first anniversary of the assault on the Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, January 6, 2022.
Mandel Ngan | Pool | Reuters
House Democrats have been vocal about the drawn-out voting process for U.S. House speaker, which is set to enter its 14th round later Friday night. The House adjourned after GOP leader McCarthy again failed to meet the required threshold to earn the speakership.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash, told CNBC that the Republicans’ inability to elect a speaker “means that all of the things that are in front of us that we still have to do are also going to be very, very difficult.”
“We need to be able to get to work we need to be able to do the things that our constituents expect us to do,” Jayapal said during the 12th round of voting. “And this is a remarkable exercise in dysfunction, chaos.”
Democrats have consistently voted unanimously for New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries throughout the process. Freshman Congressman-elect Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., who cannot be sworn in until a speaker is chosen, told CNBC that he wakes up in the middle of the night to say: “Jeffries.”
“The thing that’s not being talked about enough is that this is pausing our constituent services and our ability to be able to help people with Medicare, Medicaid, veterans, everything like that,” said Frost, who represents a district recently affected by two hurricanes. “And so we’re just figuring out how do we get around that to help people anyways.”
—Chelsey Cox
McCarthy’s deal with far-right GOP holdouts would tie debt ceiling increase to dramatic cuts in federal spending
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and members of the House Freedom Caucus conduct a news conference to call on Attorney General William Barr to release findings of an investigation into allegations of 2020 election fraud, outside the Capitol on Thursday, December 3, 2020.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
House Republican holdouts who switched their votes to back GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy for speaker after weeks of opposing him are touting what they say is a historic deal reached with the California Republican that will fulfill their longtime goals of radically reducing federal spending.
The deal specifically pledges to adopt a House budget resolution that caps fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending at or below FY 2022 levels, Rep. Scott Perry, Penn., told reporters outside the House chamber.
It also ties House passage of an upcoming debt ceiling increase to the adoption of the budget resolution.
“We don’t want clean debt ceilings to just go through and just keep paying the bill without some counteractive effort to control spending,” said Perry. “We control the power of the purse.”
Another Republican flip, Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois touted the deal in a tweet.
The concessions to far-right holdouts were enough to net McCarthy an additional 15 votes for speaker on Friday, breaking a stalemate that had gone on for three days.
— Christina Wilkie
House adjourns until 10 p.m. ET as McCarthy hunts for the last few speaker votes he needs to win
Staff members from the clerk’s office of the U.S. House of Representives count votes on tally sheets during a 12th round of voting for a new Speaker on the fourth day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2023.
Jon Cherry | Reuters
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved 220-212 a motion to adjourn until 10 p.m. ET Friday, after Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy lost his bid for speaker of the House for a 13th time.
The break offered McCarthy and his allies time to lobby a final few holdouts he needs to win the speaker’s gavel, after a day during which McCarthy’s luck dramatically turned.
After three days of consistently falling 20 votes short of the threshold he needed to win the speakership, 14 of these holdout members signed on to a framework deal with party leaders that represented a major concession by McCarthy to the demands of this small group of far-right holdouts.
— Christina Wilkie
McCarthy loses 13th speaker vote, but inches closer to winning the gavel
U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) listens during a 12th round of voting for a new Speaker on the fourth day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy has lost the13th attempt to be elected House speaker.
But in the process, the California lawmaker gained another new vote from a former holdout, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, putting McCarthy the closest he has been so far to clinching the gavel.
The 13th vote came on the heels of a striking change in McCarthy’s fortunes earlier in the afternoon, when 14 former Republican holdouts switched their votes to back him after days of voting for other candidates.
The 13th vote was also the first time this week that no Republican has stood up to formally nominate an alternative candidate to McCarthy, another sign that McCarthy and his allies are slowly wearing down the opposition.
Republicans have been deep in negotiations for the past 24 hours on a deal that appears to be winning over these far-right members of his caucus.
— Christina Wilkie
Democratic Rep. David Trone returns from surgery to cast House speaker vote, raising the bar for McCarthy
After missing the first House speaker vote of the day to undergo hand surgery, Maryland Democratic Rep. David Trone raced back to the Capitol in time to cast a ballot in the 13th House speaker vote of the week.
Trone’s speedy return was bad news for McCarthy, because it raised the total number of votes being cast for speaker, and along with it, the total number McCarthy needs to win a majority and the speaker’s gavel.
While Trone was absent, there were only 431 members voting, meaning McCarthy could have clinched the speakership with 216. Now that Trone has returned, McCarthy will need 217.
— Christina WIlkie
13th House speaker vote begins with fresh momentum for McCarthy
U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gives two thumbs up in the direction of Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) after casting his own vote for himself in the 12th round of voting for a new Speaker on the 4th day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 6, 2023.
Jon Cherry | Reuters
House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy was all smiles on the House floor as the chamber began its 13th vote for speaker, after the California Republican picked up 14 new votes in the previous ballot, reenergizing his embattled bid for the speaker’s gavel.
McCarthy entered the 13th vote in four days expected to win at least 213 votes out of the 431 total members, only four votes shy of the 217 to win a majority of the ballots being cast Friday afternoon.
McCarthy was nominated by Oklahoma Republican Rep. James Comer, who is in line to chair the House Oversight Committee in the 118th Congress.
Following Comer’s speech, McCarthy moved off the floor, potentially to take part in the final negotiations with some of the seven remaining Republican holdouts.
— Christina Wilkie
Final tally of 12th House speaker vote reflects 14 new votes for McCarthy
U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) applauds with Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and other supporters as another conservative member’s vote flips to voting for McCarthy in the 12th round of voting for a new Speaker on the 4th day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2023.
Jon Cherry | Reuters
In a surprise reversal of fortune, House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Calif., emerged from the 12th vote for House speaker with 213 votes, 14 of them from cast by former GOP holdouts who had refused to support him just a day before.
According to the House clerk, incoming Democratic Minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries received 211 votes, one less than he had received on every speaker vote so far.
The drop in Jeffries’ number was due to the unexpected absence of Maryland Democratic Rep. David Trone, whose spokeswoman said the lawmaker was unable to attend the vote due to a previously scheduled surgery.
The seven remaining Republican McCarthy holdouts split their votes between two alternative nominees, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma.
The next challenge for McCarthy and his lieutenants is to peel off three of the remaining seven holdouts, all of whom are longtime opponents of the Republican leader.
Despite McCarthy’s progress, he still fell short of capturing more than half of the available votes. With 431 members voting, he would need a minimum of 216 ballots to win.
According to the House press gallery, members have been advised to prepare for a 13th speaker vote shortly.
— Christina Wilkie
McCarthy wins new support in 12th ballot, but not enough to clinch speakership
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks on a mobile phone inside the House Chamber during voting for a new Speaker on the third day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 5, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
House Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy was on his way to losing the 12th House vote for speaker, despite having flipped several key holdouts.
On Thursday, 20 Republican members opposed his speakership, a seemingly insurmountable number.
By Friday, at least 5 Republicans had shifted to backing McCarthy. While the vote is currently underway, McCarthy has already lost six votes, making it nearly impossible for him to secure the speakership.
It was unclear whether the House would move immediately to a 13th vote, but Republican energy was palpable on the House floor.
— Christina Wilkie
McCarthy picks up 14 new votes for House speaker, shifting the momentum in his favor
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pumps his fist after voting for himself for the 9th time during a 9th round of voting in the election of a new Speaker of the House on the third day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 5, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California won votes from more than a dozen former Republican holdouts in the first ballot for House speaker, prompting standing ovations from McCarthy’s supporters on the House floor.
Reps. Dan Bishop, N.C., Josh Brecheen, Okla., Byron Donalds, Fla., Andrew Clyde, Ga., Paul Gosar, Ariz., Anna Paulina Luna, Fla., Mike Cloud, Texas, Nancy Miller, Ill., Ralph Norman, S.C., Andrew Ogles, Tenn., Scott Perry, Penn., Keith Self and Chip Roy, both of Texas, have all cast votes for McCarthy, after having supported other candidates in previous votes earlier this week.
Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who voted “present” on Thursday, also formally backed McCarthy.
The vote is still underway, but the fresh support breathed new life into McCarthy’s embattled speaker bid.
— Christina Wilkie
McCarthy predicts ‘improvement’ on fourth day of run for speaker’s gavel
U.S. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talks to reporters as he arrives on the first day of the new Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 3, 2023.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy expressed optimism heading into his fourth straight day of votes to become speaker of the House.
“I feel good,” McCarthy told NBC News’ Garrett Haake shortly before entering the House chamber early Friday afternoon.
“I think you’re gonna see an improvement in the vote today,” McCarthy said, while noting that “unfortunately” some Republican members who would likely be voting for him have left the Capitol.
They include Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, who flew home this morning to be with his wife and newborn child, NBC reported.
Asked about a possible deal being discussed earlier in the day, McCarthy offered vague details.
“Well, it’s things that we’ve been talking about. It’s got a rule package we’ve talked about over there. I think it makes us only stronger in the long run,” he said.
McCarthy expressed confidence that all House Republicans, including the roughly 20 members who have consistently opposed him, are interested in “getting this done.”
And he pushed back on the notion that the fractured House GOP may not be ready to govern. “No, no, you know, my father always told me one thing — It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” he said.
— Kevin Breuninger
12th speaker vote is underway amid rumors of a deal with McCarthy holdouts
U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) talks to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as Representatives cast their votes for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 03, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
The 12th vote for House speaker is underway after California GOP Rep. Mike Garcia nominated the embattled McCarthy, also of California.
In his speech, Garcia emphasized that the vote is not “about Kevin McCarthy,” it’s about all Americans.
While there are rumors of a deal to win over some McCarthy’s holdouts, no firm details have emerged, and McCarthy is not expected to clinch a majority of the votes on this first ballot of the day.
Outgoing Democratic Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina has nominated the incoming Minority Leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, N.Y., who has consistently received unanimous support from all 212 Democrats in every vote.
Clyburn opened his remarks by thanking the House clerk, who has unofficially presided over the chamber all week. Clyburn’s thanks prompted a standing ovation from Democrats and Republicans.
— Christina Wilkie
U.S. House Clerk opens Friday’s session
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles inside the House Chamber during voting for a new Speaker on the third day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 5, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The U.S. House Clerk Cheryl Johnson gaveled the congregation in session at noon for a prayer before lawmakers begin a historic 12th round of votes to elect a new speaker.
McCarthy is still pursuing the speakership after failing to reach the required 218 votes during the previous 11 voting sessions. Democratic opponent Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to maintain the full backing of his party.
Dark horse candidates could include Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, who was first nominated Wednesday as the first Black Republican contestant for the speaker role, and Oklahoma Republican Rep. Kevin Hern. Hern threw his support behind McCarthy on Thursday.
Former President Donald Trump, nominated by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Thursday, could also grab another surprise vote.
—Chelsey Cox
GOP absences in the House could alter the math for McCarthy
As the House speaker battle drags into its fourth day, at least two Republicans will be absent for at least part of the day, potentially altering the vote math.
GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas flew home this morning, Fox News reports. Hunt’s wife gave birth to a baby boy on Monday.
Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado missed votes late Thursday, reportedly due to a medical appointment.
A spokesman for Buck confirmed to CNBC that Buck is “expected back in DC this evening,” but not in time for today’s afternoon votes.
Both Hunt and Buck have voted for McCarthy all week, so their absences compound his challenge. If McCarthy fails to win any new votes, he would then be on track to win 199 out of a total of 431, presuming Rep. Victoria Sparz again votes “present,” but doesn’t cast a ballot.
With 431 total voting members, the new magic number to win the speakership becomes 216. McCarthy would still fall short, but it would potentially shrink the number of holdouts he would need to win.
But it would also put Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who has won every Democratic vote all week, just four votes away from winning the speakership.
— Christina Wilkie
McCarthy’s chances improve after GOP negotiations, but still no deal
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) places his hand over his mouth as he stands inside the House Chamber during voting for a new Speaker on the third day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 5, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
McCarthy was optimistic during a GOP-wide conference call Friday morning, but the fractured party still hasn’t reached a deal to hand the Republican leader a win, NBC reports.
“I’m not telling you we have an agreement,” McCarthy said, according to two people on the call. “We’re in a good position and having meetings.”
Texas Rep. Chip Roy currently leads a faction committed to bringing McCarthy more votes, though the exact number they have swayed is not known. Though a win is not guaranteed, the party leader has reportedly inched closer toward the speakership.
— Chelsey Cox
Speaker battle paralyzes all activity in the House
The chair of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives sits empty as the House embarks on another round of voting for a new House Speaker on the second day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 4, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
The longer the infighting on Capitol Hill delays the election of a new House Speaker, the more havoc it will wreak on the federal government.
While it doesn’t necessarily pose an imminent threat to the U.S. economy, it paralyzes all action on the Hill. That could be especially detrimental if the nation were to face a major catastrophe that needed quick congressional votes or approval on emergency spending, as it did in the Sept. 11th attacks or during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of Friday, the chamber could not pass legislation or respond to a national emergency.
Representatives-elect across the country cannot set up their offices or provide formal services for constituents until they are sworn into the new Congress by the speaker. That includes help with receiving federal benefits or recovering missing payments from the government.
Without a speaker, the House can’t vote on a rules package governing the new Congress. The stalemate has stopped Republicans from installing their committee chairs, holding hearings or conducting regular oversight of the executive branch and industry.
If the House does not pass rules by Jan. 13, committee staff could start to lose pay, according to guidance sent to those panels reported by Politico.
Democrats also emphasized that the absence of a speaker was threatening U.S. national security by keeping members of Congress from accessing classified intelligence that is only available to lawmakers after they have taken the oath of office, which none of them can take without a speaker.
— Jacob Pramuk
Hern, Donalds floated as alternatives to McCarthy
US Republican Representative from California Kevin McCarthy arrives as the US House of Representatives continues voting for new speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 4, 2023.
Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images
GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s chances of winning the speakership dimmed on Thursday after Republicans pushed for two alternate candidates: Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern
U.S. Rep.-elect Byron Donalds (R-FL) watches proceedings in the House Chamber during the third day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 05, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Donalds, who was the only Black candidate, was first nominated on Wednesday while Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Co., offered Hern’s name Thursday. Hern chairs the powerful Republican Study Committee while Donalds sat on the powerful budget and oversight committees during the last congressional session.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) speaks during a town hall event hosted by House Republicans ahead of President Joe Bidens first State of the Union address tonight on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Samuel Corum | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Both fell far short of gaining a competitive share of the votes — Donalds and Hern grabbed 12 and 7, respectively, compared with 200 for McCarthy and 212 for Democratic challenger Rep. Hakeem Jeffries — but the final tally placed the coveted role further from McCarthy’s grasp. A 12th round of voting is expected to take place Friday at noon.
— Chelsey Cox
Anniversary of Jan. 6 Capitol riot looms over McCarthy’s struggle for House speaker
U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gets a pat on the back from one of his House colleagues prior to a fourth round of voting for a new House Speaker on the second day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 4, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy’s protracted struggle for the House speaker’s gavel has now overlapped with the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The insurrection by a violent mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters forced lawmakers in the House and Senate to flee their chambers, impeding the transfer of power from Trump to now-President Joe Biden.
Community faith leaders gather for a prayer vigil on the second anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2023 in Washington, DC. Speakers called for an end to Christian nationalism and denounced political violence.
Nathan Howard | Getty Images
McCarthy had initially blamed Trump for the attack, saying the president “bears responsibility” even as he opposed Democrats’ efforts to impeach Trump for a second time. But McCarthy soon walked back that criticism, and that same month visited Trump and posed with him for a smiling photo.
A man dressed as Uncle Sam, who’s a regular attendee of events held by former President Donald Trump, stops to pray near community faith leaders during a vigil on the second anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Nathan Howard | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Trump has in recent days urged the faction of House Republican defectors to back McCarthy for speaker. But although the group of far-right lawmakers are highly supportive of Trump — GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz even voted for Trump for House speaker in two of McCarthy’s failed votes — they have not acquiesced to his demand.
Some Democrats are linking the current Capitol chaos to the radicalism that led to the 2021 riot.
“Unfortunately, the utter pandemonium wrought by House Republicans this week is just one more example of how the extreme fringe of their party, led by election deniers, is pulling them further into chaos and making it impossible for them to govern,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Friday morning.
Biden is set to attend a ceremony at the White House at 2 p.m. ET marking the two-year anniversary of the insurrection. He will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
— Kevin Breuninger
Hardline Republicans dig in against McCarthy’s House speaker bid
WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Hardline Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives rejected Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid for an 11th time on Thursday, while his supporters worked behind closed doors in hopes of cementing a deal that could bring success.
The voting propelled the House to a level of dysfunction not seen since the turbulent era just before the Civil War, even after McCarthy offered to curb his own clout, raising questions about the party’s ability to wield power.
After the 11th ballot, the House adjourned for the third time this week without electing a speaker. Lawmakers will reconvene at noon (1700 GMT) on Friday.
McCarthy’s opponents say they do not trust him to fight for the deep spending cuts and other restrictions they want to impose on President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
But some Republicans held out hope of an agreement between the California Republican and at least some of the 20 hardline conservatives who have opposed his candidacy in ballot after ballot.
“Things are coming together in a very healthy way,” said Representative Patrick McHenry, a McCarthy supporter who is poised to lead a top congressional committee.
“We don’t know the timeframe. But the engagement is there and that’s why I’m optimistic,” he said.
Among other things, a possible agreement would allow for a vote on term limits for members of Congress, according to Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick.
But McCarthy’s supporters stopped short of predicting a resolution to the stalemate anytime soon.
Because of its inability to choose a leader, the 435-seat House has been rendered impotent – unable even to formally swear in newly elected members let alone hold hearings, consider legislation or scrutinize Biden and his administration.
Republicans won a slim 222-212 House majority in the November midterm elections, meaning McCarthy cannot afford to lose the support of more than four Republicans as Democrats united around their own candidate.
McCarthy, who was backed by former President Donald Trump for the post, offered the holdouts a range of concessions that would weaken the speaker’s role, which political allies warned would make the job even harder if he got it.
At least 200 Republicans have backed McCarthy in each of the votes this week. Fewer than 10% of Republican lawmakers have voted against him but they are enough to deny him the 218 votes needed to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker.
“What you’re seeing on this floor does not mean we are dysfunctional,” said Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna as she nominated a McCarthy rival, Byron Donalds, for the 10th vote.
‘CONSTRUCT A STRAITJACKET’
“I can tell you there’s some good things happening,” said Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a McCarthy supporter who is among the most outspoken conservatives in the House. “I think we’re going to see some movement.”
But some of McCarthy’s opponents showed no sign of yielding.
“This ends in one of two ways: either Kevin McCarthy withdraws from the race or we construct a straitjacket that he is unwilling to evade,” said Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, who voted for Trump for speaker.
As speaker, McCarthy would hold a post that normally shapes the chamber’s agenda and is second in the line of succession to the presidency behind Vice President Kamala Harris. He would be empowered to frustrate Biden’s legislative agenda and launch investigations into the president’s family and administration in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
In a late-night bargaining session, McCarthy offered the holdouts greater influence over what legislation comes up for a vote, according to a source familiar with the talks.
He also offered the ability for any single member to call a vote that could potentially remove him from the post – a step that helped drive at least one prior Republican speaker, John Boehner, into retirement.
Those concessions could potentially help McCarthy win over some of the holdouts but would leave him more vulnerable to the hardliners through the rest of the next two years if he ultimately wins the speakership.
That has even alarmed some Democrats, who have largely served as bystanders in the drama of the past three days.
“With every concession, he has to wake up every day wondering if he’s still going to have his job,” Democratic Representative Richard Neal told reporters.
The inability to agree on a leader also raises questions about whether Republicans will force a government shutdown or risk default later this year in a bid to extract steep spending cuts. Some of the holdouts say they expect McCarthy or any other Republican leader to take that approach.
If McCarthy ultimately fails to unite Republicans, they would have to search for an alternative. Possibilities include No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise and Representative Jim Jordan, who have both backed McCarthy. Jordan received 20 votes when nominated by the holdouts on Tuesday.
Reporting by Moira Warburton, Doina Chiacu, David Morgan, Kanishka Singh and Gram Slattery; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Will Dunham, Howard Goller and Christian Schmollinger
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Republicans scramble to end impasse over McCarthy’s imperiled speakership bid
CNN
—
Kevin McCarthy faces growing pressure to end the impasse over his imperiled speakership bid after two consecutive days of failed votes.
But even after proposing major concessions to his hardline opponents late Wednesday, it remains unclear if the California Republican will be able to lock in the 218 votes he needs to win the gavel, and patience is wearing thin among lawmakers as the fight drags on.
The House is set to reconvene on Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. It’s unclear if a seventh vote on McCarthy’s speakership will happen then or if Republicans will move to adjourn. McCarthy is leery of having additional votes that show 20 members are opposed to him and he wants to demonstrate some forward momentum, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.
Republican holdouts were meeting Thursday morning, said Rep. Warren Davidson, who supports McCarthy.
“I think after that, they’ll talk to Leader McCarthy and hopefully close up a deal,” the Ohio Republican told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “CNN This Morning,” though he conceded that McCarthy “may never make it to 218.”
McCarthy, however, struck an optimistic tone when he arrived on Capitol Hill.
“I think we’re making progress,” he said.
There are some early indications that negotiations have made some headway as McCarthy and his allies attempt to chip away at opposition from a bloc of conservatives.
In a series of new concessions first reported by CNN Wednesday night, McCarthy agreed to propose a rules change that would allow just one member to call for a vote to oust a sitting speaker, according to two sources familiar with the matter. McCarthy had initially proposed a five-member threshold, down from current conference rules that require half of the GOP to call for such a vote.
He also agreed to allow for more members of the Freedom Caucus to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee, which dictates how and whether bills come to the floor, and to vote on a handful of bills that are priorities for the holdouts, including proposing term limits on members and a border security plan.
Republican sources say that even if McCarthy’s offers are accepted, it would still not get him the 218 votes he needs to be speaker. While these concessions could attract some new support, other opponents have raised different concerns that have yet to be fully addressed.
McCarthy said Wednesday evening that there was no deal yet to end the stalemate, but that there has been progress. “I think it’s probably best that people work through some more,” McCarthy said after the House had adjourned.
McCarthy has already made a number of concessions to his opponents, though so far his efforts have not been enough.
But sources said the talks Wednesday between McCarthy allies and holdouts have been the most productive and serious ones to date. And in one sign of a breakthrough, a McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open Republican primaries in safe seats – one of the big demands that conservatives had asked for but that McCarthy had resisted until this point.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy, one of the conservatives who has voted against McCarthy’s speakership bid, told GOP leaders that he thinks he can get 10 holdouts to come along if ongoing negotiations pan out, according to GOP sources familiar with the internal discussions, and that there are additional detractors who may be willing to vote “present.”
Still, even if these negotiations prove successful and 10 lawmakers do flip to McCarthy’s column – which is far from certain – that won’t get McCarthy to the 218 votes needed to win the speakership, so he would still have more work to do.
McCarthy also met separately Wednesday with the freshmen members-elect who voted against him, sources told CNN.
During the meeting, McCarthy reiterated some of the things he has already promised and went into greater detail about those concessions.
McCathy’s direct outreach to the freshmen-elect offers another window into his strategy for winning over the holdouts.
Incoming House Majority Whip Tom Emmer commented that the negotiations have been “very, very constructive.”
“There were a whole bunch of members that were involved in this, and there are some folks now that are sitting down and talking about that discussion to see where they want to go with it next,” the Minnesota Republican said.
One moderate Republican told CNN Thursday morning that they aren’t happy about the concessions, though they are willing to have “discussions” about them.
The fear is that lowering the threshold for a vote to oust the speaker to one member will make governing on items like the debt limit and funding almost impossible.
“I don’t like the rules but am willing to hear discussions. I think they’re a mistake for the conference. These handful of folks want a weak speaker with a four-vote majority. The public will not like what they see of the GOP, I fear,” the member said.
The fight over the speakership, which began Tuesday on the first day of the 118th Congress, has thrown the new House GOP majority into chaos and undercut the party’s agenda.
As the fight has stretched out, the situation has grown increasingly dire for McCarthy’s political future as even some of his Republican allies have begun to fear that the House GOP leader may not be able to pull off his gamble for speaker if the fight goes much longer.
McCarthy has so far come up short in six rounds of voting. The final GOP tally for the sixth vote, which took place on Wednesday, was 201 for McCarthy, 20 for Florida Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and one “present” vote.
The House will remain paralyzed until this standoff is resolved. This is the first time an election for speaker has gone to multiple ballots since 1923.
To be elected speaker, a candidate needs to win a majority of members who vote for a specific person on the House floor. That amounts to 218 votes if no member skips the vote or votes “present.”
House Republicans won 222 seats in the new Congress, so for McCarthy to reach 218, he can only afford to lose four GOP votes.
Republicans scramble to end impasse over McCarthy’s imperiled speakership bid
CNN
—
Kevin McCarthy faces growing pressure to end the impasse over his imperiled speakership bid after two consecutive days of failed votes.
But even after proposing major concessions to his hardline opponents late Wednesday, it remains unclear if the California Republican will be able to lock in the 218 votes he needs to win the gavel, and patience is wearing thin among lawmakers as the fight drags on.
The House is set to reconvene on Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. It’s unclear if a seventh vote on McCarthy’s speakership will happen then or if Republicans will move to adjourn. McCarthy is leery of having additional votes that show 20 members are opposed to him and he wants to demonstrate some forward momentum, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.
Republican holdouts are meeting Thursday morning at 8 a.m. ET, according to Rep. Warren Davidson, who supports McCarthy.
“I think after that, they’ll talk to Leader McCarthy and hopefully close up a deal,” the Ohio Republican told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “CNN This Morning.”
Still, Davidson conceded, “he may never make it to 218.”
There are some early indications that negotiations have made some headway as McCarthy and his allies attempt to chip away at opposition from a bloc of conservatives.
In a series of new concessions first reported by CNN Wednesday night, McCarthy agreed to propose a rules change that would allow just one member to call for a vote to oust a sitting speaker, according to two sources familiar with the matter. McCarthy had initially proposed a five-member threshold, down from current conference rules that require half of the GOP to call for such a vote.
He also agreed to allow for more members of the Freedom Caucus to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee, which dictates how and whether bills come to the floor, and to vote on a handful of bills that are priorities for the holdouts, including proposing term limits on members and a border security plan.
Republican sources say that even if McCarthy’s offers are accepted, it would still not get him the 218 votes he needs to be speaker. While these concessions could attract some new support, other opponents have raised different concerns that have yet to be fully addressed.
McCarthy said Wednesday evening that there was no deal yet to end the stalemate, but that there has been progress. “I think it’s probably best that people work through some more,” McCarthy said after the House had adjourned.
McCarthy has already made a number of concessions to his opponents, though so far his efforts have not been enough.
But sources said the talks Wednesday between McCarthy allies and holdouts have been the most productive and serious ones to date. And in one sign of a breakthrough, a McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open Republican primaries in safe seats – one of the big demands that conservatives had asked for but that McCarthy had resisted until this point.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy, one of the conservatives who has voted against McCarthy’s speakership bid, told GOP leaders that he thinks he can get 10 holdouts to come along if ongoing negotiations pan out, according to GOP sources familiar with the internal discussions, and that there are additional detractors who may be willing to vote “present.”
Still, even if these negotiations prove successful and 10 lawmakers do flip to McCarthy’s column – which is far from certain – that won’t get McCarthy to the 218 votes needed to win the speakership, so he would still have more work to do.
McCarthy also met separately Wednesday with the freshmen members-elect who voted against him, sources told CNN.
During the meeting, McCarthy reiterated some of the things he has already promised and went into greater detail about those concessions.
McCathy’s direct outreach to the freshmen-elect offers another window into his strategy for winning over the holdouts.
Incoming House Majority Whip Tom Emmer commented that the negotiations have been “very, very constructive.”
“There were a whole bunch of members that were involved in this, and there are some folks now that are sitting down and talking about that discussion to see where they want to go with it next,” the Minnesota Republican said.
One moderate Republican told CNN Thursday morning that they aren’t happy about the concessions, though they are willing to have “discussions” about them.
The fear is that lowering the threshold for a vote to oust the speaker to one member will make governing on items like the debt limit and funding almost impossible.
“I don’t like the rules but am willing to hear discussions. I think they’re a mistake for the conference. These handful of folks want a weak speaker with a four-vote majority. The public will not like what they see of the GOP, I fear,” the member said.
The fight over the speakership, which began Tuesday on the first day of the 118th Congress, has thrown the new House GOP majority into chaos and undercut the party’s agenda.
As the fight has stretched out, the situation has grown increasingly dire for McCarthy’s political future as even some of his Republican allies have begun to fear that the House GOP leader may not be able to pull off his gamble for speaker if the fight goes much longer.
McCarthy has so far come up short in six rounds of voting. The final GOP tally for the sixth vote, which took place on Wednesday, was 201 for McCarthy, 20 for Florida Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and one “present” vote.
The House will remain paralyzed until this standoff is resolved. This is the first time an election for speaker has gone to multiple ballots since 1923.
To be elected speaker, a candidate needs to win a majority of members who vote for a specific person on the House floor. That amounts to 218 votes if no member skips the vote or votes “present.”
House Republicans won 222 seats in the new Congress, so for McCarthy to reach 218, he can only afford to lose four GOP votes.
Live updates: McCarthy’s bid for House speaker continues
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans flailed through a second day of multiple balloting Wednesday, unable to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker or to come up with a new strategy to end the political chaos that has tarnished the start of their new majority.
For a fifth time, Republicans tried to vote McCarthy into the top job as the House plunged deeper into disarray. That came moments after the fourth vote showed 20 conservative holdouts still refusing to support him, unchanged from the previous time around and leaving him far short of the 218 votes typically needed to win the gavel.
“Let cooler, more rational heads prevail,” said Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, a conservative aligned with the far-right Freedom Caucus who nevertheless nominated McCarthy.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, a firm Colorado conservative, nominated Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., the chosen protest candidate of the day— and called for former President Donald Trump, the conservatives’ hero, to tell McCarthy, “`Sir, you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw.”
Earlier Wednesday, Trump had done the opposite, urging Republicans to vote for McCarthy. “Close the deal, take the victory, he wrote on his social media site, using all capital letters. “Do not turn a great triumph into a giant & embarrassing defeat.”
Yet the California Republican vowed to keep fighting despite losing in multiple rounds of voting that threw the new majority into tumult a day earlier. Animated private discussions broke out on the chamber floor between McCarthy supporters and detractors searching for an endgame.
The House gaveled in at noon, but no other work could be done — swearing in new members, forming committees, tackling legislation, investigating the Biden administration — until the speaker was elected.
“Sure, it looks messy,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a McCarthy ally who quickly re-nominated him for the job with a rousing speech designed to peel off detractors. But democracy is messy, he said. “The American people are in charge.”
McCarthy himself entered the chamber saying, “We’ll have another vote.”
But the dynamic proved no different from Day One, as Democrats re-upped their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, for speaker, and a right-flank leader from the Freedom Caucus twice offered a challenge to McCarthy — nominating Donalds in another history making moment. Both Jeffries and Donalds are Black.
“This country needs leadership,” said Rep. Chip Roy, the Texas Republican noting the first time in history two Black Americans were nominated for the high office, and lawmakers from both parties rose to applaud.
It was the first time in 100 years that a nominee for House speaker could not take the gavel on the first vote, but McCarthy appeared undeterred. Instead, he vowed to fight to the finish.
The disorganized start to the new Congress pointed to difficulties ahead with Republicans now in control of the House.
President Joe Biden, departing the White House for a bipartisan event in Kentucky with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, said “the rest of the world is looking” at the scene on the House floor.
“I just think it’s really embarrassing it’s taking so long,” Biden said. “I have no idea” who will prevail.
Tensions flared among the new House majority as their campaign promises stalled out. Not since 1923 has a speaker’s election gone to multiple ballots, and the longest and most grueling fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged out for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.
A new generation of conservative Republicans, many aligned with Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda, want to upend business as usual in Washington, and were committed to stopping McCarthy’s rise without concessions to their priorities.
“Kevin McCarthy is not going to be a speaker,” declared Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., one of the holdouts.
As the spectacle of voting dragged on, McCarthy’s backers implored the holdouts to fall in line for the California Republican.
“We all came here to get things done,” the second-ranking Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise, said in a Tuesday speech nominating McCarthy for the vote and urging his colleagues to drop their protest.
Railing against Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda, Scalise, himself a possible GOP compromise choice, said, “We can’t start fixing those problems until we elect Kevin McCarthy our next speaker.”
The standoff over McCarthy has been building since Republicans won the House majority in the midterm elections. While the Senate remains in Democratic hands, barely, House Republicans are eager to confront Biden after two years of the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress. The conservative Freedom Caucus led the opposition to McCarthy, believing he’s neither conservative enough nor tough enough to battle Democrats.
To win support, McCarthy has already agreed to many of the demands of the Freedom Caucus, who have been agitating for rules changes and other concessions that give rank-and-file members more influence in the legislative process. He has been here before, having bowed out of the speakers race in 2015 when he failed to win over conservatives.
“Everything’s on the table,” said ally Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. — except, he said, having McCarthy step aside. “Not at all. That is not on the table.”
Democrats enthusiastically nominated Jeffries, who is taking over as party leader, as their choice for speaker. He won the most votes overall, 212.
If McCarthy could win 213 votes, and then persuade the remaining naysayers to simply vote present, he would be able to lower the threshold required under the rules to have the majority.
It’s a strategy former House speakers, including outgoing Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Speaker John Boehner had used when they confronted opposition, winning the gavel with fewer than 218 votes.
One Republican, Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, voted present on the fourth round vote, but it made little difference in the immediate outcome.
MTG Says GOP Faction Called ‘the 5 Families’ Meets Every Week in McCarthy’s Office
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said a group of Republican is meeting every week in Kevin McCarthy’s office.
- The meeting is called “the five families,” she said, in an apparent mafia reference.
- McCarthy, a strong contender for House Speaker, is planning a series of investigations next year.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia says a group of Republicans called “the five families” meets every week to discuss strategy and policy in Kevin McCarthy’s office.
Greene made the mob reference while speaking on a Tuesday episode of conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon’s show, “The War Room.”
She claimed the Biden administration and House Democrats are “terrified” of Republican congressional leaders, now that the latter has taken the majority in the House.
“Because they’re hearing us talk, and they know we’re organizing,” she told Bannon.
“What we’ve been doing, and it’s really interesting, people are arguing, people are clashing, people are also starting to agree,” said Greene. “And there’s a meeting happening every week, and we meet in Kevin McCarthy’s office.”
“And it’s called the five families. And the five families, you know my reference, the five families are parts of our conference, all the different parts,” she continued. “And we are coming together and having discussions on how we are going to govern in the majority.”
—PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) December 13, 2022
The Five Families often refer to five major organized crime families in the Italian American mafia who were prominent in New York City in the 20th century.
Bannon joked that he hoped the Republicans’ “five families” meetings fare better than the ones in the 1972 mafia movie “The Godfather.”
“They went to war,” he said, as the show cut to a break.
Greene, a controversial figure in the GOP and a loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump, may soon see a resurgence in her political influence if House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy puts her on his planned oversight committee.
She’s thrown in her support for McCarthy’s bid to be House Speaker, and is in turn expected to be handed a committee assignment in the next Congress. The House previously stripped Greene of her committee appointments on February 4, 2021, with her critics saying she promoted baseless conspiracy theories, racism, and violence against Democrats.
Greene said in November that she’s set to secure a spot on the oversight panel, which McCarthy wants to use to launch a litany of investigations into the Biden administration, China, the FBI, big tech, and other parties.
Representatives for Greene and McCarthy did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.