Tag Archives: votes

Decades Later, Senate Votes to Repeal Iraq Military Authorizations – The New York Times

  1. Decades Later, Senate Votes to Repeal Iraq Military Authorizations The New York Times
  2. Senate votes to pass repeal of authorizations for Gulf and Iraq wars MSNBC
  3. McConnell Comes Out Swinging Against Authorization of Military Force Repeal: Terrorists ‘Aren’t Sunsetting Their War Against Us’ Yahoo News
  4. Senate votes to repeal Iraq War power authorizations, 20 years after US invasion CNN
  5. Senators voted down two more GOP amendments — on Ukraine and Afghanistan — as they prepare to wrap debate on repealing the 1991 and 2022 Iraq AUMFs. POLITICO

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GOP war on ‘woke’ ESG heats up as House votes to block Biden’s ESG investing rule – USA TODAY

  1. GOP war on ‘woke’ ESG heats up as House votes to block Biden’s ESG investing rule USA TODAY
  2. House votes to kill Biden’s ‘woke’ ESG investment rule that props up ‘phony climate movement’ Fox News
  3. House Votes to Block Biden Rule Allowing Retirement Fund Managers to Prioritize Social Causes National Review
  4. Explainer: Can Republicans topple Biden’s ESG investing rule in court? Reuters
  5. House approves measure targeting Biden rule allowing money managers to consider ESG in retirement investing The Hill
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Who Barcelona players voted for, and who they got votes from, in the FIFA “The Best” Awards – Barca Blaugranes

  1. Who Barcelona players voted for, and who they got votes from, in the FIFA “The Best” Awards Barca Blaugranes
  2. Messi beats Mbappe to Best FIFA Men’s Player award ESPN
  3. Lionel Messi Just Rocked a $218,000 Platinum Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar at the FIFA Awards Yahoo Life
  4. Cristiano Ronaldo refused to vote for award won by Lionel Messi as responsibility passed on to teammate CaughtOffside
  5. David Alaba Explains Why He Voted For Lionel Messi For The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award Ahead Of Karim Benzema Sports Illustrated
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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GOP leaders work to lock down votes to remove Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee



CNN
 — 

House Republican leaders have worked to lock down the votes to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from the Foreign Affairs Committee after several members of their conference had signaled resistance to the move.

One of those Republicans, Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, announced on Tuesday that she is now prepared to support a resolution to oust Omar, citing the addition of “due process language.”

“I appreciate Speaker McCarthy’s willingness to address legitimate concerns and add due process language to our resolution. Deliberation and debate are vital for our institution, not top-down approaches,” the congresswoman said in a statement.

Later on Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNN he has the votes to oust Omar from the committee. “Yes,” he said.

Spartz had previously indicated that she opposed the effort to remove three Democratic lawmakers from committees, including Omar.

Last week, Spartz said in a statement, “Speaker McCarthy is taking unprecedented actions this Congress to deny some committee assignments to the Minority without proper due process.”

The addition of “due process” language may prove to be a sweet spot for GOP leaders and a handful of Republican members who have remained on the fence about a vote to oust Omar, who has been accused by some members of making antisemitic remarks in the past. Omar apologized in 2019 for her remarks, but she has since defended some of her criticisms of Israel and some of its American allies.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CNN earlier on Tuesday that she too heard there could be a due process provision included in the resolution, but she suggested she needed to see the resolution.

“Here’s the thing. This has never been done before until Democrats did it to Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Mace said. “Typically it’s the conference or the steering committee of each conference … who choose what members go on what committees. This is not a precedent we should be setting at all.”

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida told CNN Tuesday evening that he had just met with McCarthy to discuss changes made to the resolution.

“I’m glad we are focused on due process,” Gaetz said, indicating he was waiting to see the final language before taking a position.

McCarthy vowed last year that if Republicans won back the House majority, he would strip Democrats Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and Omar of committee assignments, arguing that Democrats created a “new standard” when they held the majority by removing Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from committees for violent rhetoric and posts.

Congressional Democrats have reacted with outrage – arguing that Greene and Gosar’s behavior merited a major rebuke and saying the move to kick Schiff, Swalwell and Omar off committees appears to be an act of political revenge.

McCarthy has the power to unilaterally block Schiff and Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee because it is a select committee. Ousting Omar, however, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee would require a vote of the full House of Representatives.

House GOP leadership has expressed optimism they’ll have the votes to remove Omar from the committee. But with Democrats poised to oppose the move, it would only take a handful of GOP members to defect and block McCarthy from moving forward given that Republicans control a razor-thin majority in the House.

Democrats had also argued the move by the House GOP is hypocritical – pointing to the fact that embattled GOP Rep. George Santos, who is facing mounting legal issues and growing calls to resign for extensively lying about his resume and identity, had been awarded seats on two committees.

In an abrupt turn of events, however, Santos told the House GOP conference on Tuesday behind closed doors that he wants off of his two committees until his issues are resolved, three members told CNN.

The New York Republican, who has faced calls for his resignation for false statements – including regarding his professional experience, education history and identity – is a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Small Business. Federal prosecutors are also investigating Santos’ finances. Santos declined to speak to reporters as he left the meeting.

Greene told CNN on Tuesday that it was Santos’ decision that he made on his own to “abstain” from the committees. She said he told the conference he would step aside from the committees as the GOP is trying to oust Omar from Foreign Affairs.

“He just felt like there was so much drama really over the situation, and especially what we’re doing to work to remove Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs committee,” she told CNN.

Omar, Schiff and Swalwell have pushed back in reaction to McCarthy’s effort to strip them of committee seats.

“Kevin McCarthy’s purely partisan moves to strip us from our committee is not only a political stunt, but also a blow to the integrity of our democratic institution and threat to our national security,” Omar said at a recent news conference where she spoke alongside Schiff and Swalwell.

House Republicans have argued that Omar should not be on the Foreign Affairs committee in light of past statements she has made related to Israel that have sparked controversy and in some cases been criticized by members of both parties as antisemitic.

In 2019, Omar issued a public apology after she faced a backlash for tweets condemned on both sides of the aisle as antisemitic. The apology came after the Minnesota Democrat faced widespread criticism after suggesting Republican support of Israel is fueled by donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a prominent pro-Israel group.

There have been other incidents as well: In 2021, a group of Jewish House Democrats accused Omar of equating the US and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the US. In response, Omar said that she was “in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries.”

As House Republicans move to kick Omar off the Foreign Affairs committee, the new GOP majority has granted Greene and Gosar committee assignments for the new Congress.

Greene and Gosar have faced criticism from both sides of the aisle. Last year, Republican leaders in Congress condemned both lawmakers for speaking at a White nationalist conference.

Greene spoke at the America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida – an event founded by the far-right activist Nick Fuentes as an alternative to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Gosar appeared at the America First Political Action Conference via a pre-recorded video, HuffPost reported. Gosar also attended the same conference last year.

Greene defended her appearance in a lengthy statement, dismissing the blowback as “fake divisions and disingenuous allegations” and proclaiming that she won’t “cancel” other conservatives even if she finds their statements “tasteless, misguided or even repulsive at times.”

A CNN KFile review of Gosar’s events and social media posts over the years found that the lawmaker has long associations with White nationalists, a pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe players. A spokesperson for Gosar declined to comment on specific questions about the congressman’s associates in response to the reporting.

This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.

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House speaker vote update: McCarthy thanks Trump for final votes as fight nearly breaks out on floor

Trump phone-ins, near-fights and 15 votes: Key moments from a chaotic House Speaker election

Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the House of Representatives after 15 rounds of voting, clinching the gavel just after midnight on Saturday.

The longest contest for speaker of the House of Representatives in more than a century finally came to an end as six remaining Republican holdouts opted to vote “present”, giving Mr McCarthy a majority over Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.

Earlier, Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Matt Gaetz amid chaotic scenes in the House.

Congressman Richard Hudson grabbed Mr Rogers by his face and physically pulled him away.

In his first speech as speaker, Mr McCarthy thanked former president Donald Trump for “helping get those final votes”.

Mr McCarthy’s bid had been delayed by a group of far-right Republicans including the likes of Lauren Boebert and Mr Gaetz.

However, on Friday he made significant progress in the 12th ballot, managing to flip a total of 14 representatives-elect in his favour after lengthy negotiations.

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Republican held back in confrontation with Matt Gaetz during Speaker vote

Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Mr Gaetz amid chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Richard Hudson, of North Carolina, grabbed Mr Rogers from behind around his face and shoulder and pulled the irate Alabama Congressman away.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 12:30

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Marjorie Taylor Greene boasts of ‘perfect phone call’ from Donald Trump

Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Green boasted of “the perfect phone call” from former president Donald Trump shortly before Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the US House of Representatives early on Saturday.

The GOP member elected from Georgia shared a picture of herself holding out her smartphone to colleague Matt Rosendale, with “DT” flashing on the screen, likely referring to the former president.

He could be seen holding his hand out and waving it away, as Ms Greene attempts to hand the phone over to him.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 11:30

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Calls for C-SPAN to be given greater freedom to films the House after wild speaker election scenes

Just after midnight on Saturday, Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the House by his Republican colleagues, after an astounding 14 previous unsuccessful rounds of voting. The incident not only put a spotlight on the division and dysfunction within the GOP.

It also, after numerous, drawn-out, dramatic votes, highlighted how rare it is for the public to actually watch the work of Congress live, inspiring calls to give C-SPAN more control over its cameras inside the House.

As the House struggled to get its normal business underway, cameras from C-SPAN, the nonprofit public affairs network backed by large cable companies, caught all kinds of notable scenes.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 10:30

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Speaker McCarthy: A weakened leader or emboldened survivor?

“Republican Kevin McCarthy is the new House speaker, but as bruising as it was for him to seize the gavel in a history-making election, it may be even more difficult for the embattled leader to do much with the powerful position — or to even keep it,” writes Lisa Mascaro for The Associated Press.

“Like the two most recent Republican speakers, John Boehner and Paul Ryan, McCarthy takes the helm of a restive, rebellious majority split in much the way as the party itself, between what’s left of the Grand Old Party conservatives and a new generation of tea party-to-Donald Trump hard-liners preferring almost no big government at all.”

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 09:30

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Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to far-right Republicans risk tanking the global economy

House Republican Kevin McCarthy’s numerous concessions to the most right-wing members of his conference risk setting the House of Representatives and Congress up for a series of crises over the next two years.

At the top of the list is the US debt ceiling, which far-right lawmakers may hold hostage to extract policy concessions and spending cuts, while endangering the full faith and credit of the US and global economy.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 08:30

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AOC says GOP chaos shows how reasonable progressives are

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has told The Independent that Republicans’ chaotic efforts to elect a speaker for the new Congress serve to highlight how grounded and reasonable she and other members of the so-called ‘Squad’ of progressive Democrats have been.

Read more on what she had to say:

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 07:30

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Kevin McCarthy thanks Trump for ‘helping get those final votes’

New House speaker Kevin McCarthy credited the former president’s 11th hour lobbying with helping him secure the gavel in a speech delivered in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 06:30

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Watch: Key moments from a chaotic House Speaker election

Trump phone-ins, near-fights and 15 votes, here are the key moments from a chaotic House speaker election.

Confrontations and near-fights: Key moments from a chaotic House Speaker election

From confrontations and anger to lawmakers being restrained, here are the highlights from the night a new US House Speaker was elected. Kevin McCarthy was voted as House of Representatives speaker last night after 15 rounds of voting in four days. The night saw Mr McCarthy confront Matt Gaetz for withholding his vote in the 14th round before he later changed his mind in a dramatic turn of events – solidifying him as Nancy Pelosi’s successor. Rep Richard Hudson was filmed restraining Alabama’s Mike Rogers when he confronted Gaetz. The role is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the vice president, marking the position as one of the most powerful jobs in US politics. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 05:30

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Matt Gaetz reveals why he flipped on House speaker vote

Matt Gaetz said he finally agreed to vote “present” after Kevin McCarthy agreed to all of his demands.

“I ran out of things I could even imagine to ask for,” Mr Gaetz told CNN reporter Melanie Zanona after Friday night’s dramatic vote.

After previously vowing to never vote for Mr McCarthy, Mr Gaetz was one of six holdout Republicans who changed their vote to present on Friday night.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 04:30

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Republican held back in confrontation with Matt Gaetz during Speaker vote

Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Mr Gaetz amid chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill.

Congressman Richard Hudson, of North Carolina, grabbed Mr Rogers from behind around his face and shoulder and pulled the irate Alabama Congressman away.

Bevan Hurley8 January 2023 03:30

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House speaker vote: McCarthy appears to have secured enough support to be House speaker after days of negotiations and failed votes



CNN
 — 

Kevin McCarthy appears to have secured the support needed to be elected House speaker Friday evening – in what would be a major victory for the California Republican following days of painstaking negotiations and failed votes. The vote is still ongoing and, as a result, is not yet official, but as of now McCarthy appears to have crossed the threshold needed to win.

McCarthy has been locked in a fight for his political future in what has become the longest contest in 164 years. He has worked to chip away at the opposition he has faced from a bloc of hardline conservatives who have used their leverage in the new House GOP’s razor-thin majority to make demands.

In turn, moderates have been frustrated by the concessions McCarthy has made, which many believe may make it harder for the new GOP majority to effectively govern, though they will likely still swallow them.

Even if McCarthy wins the gavel, the contentious, drawn-out fight threatens to deepen divides between conservatives and moderates and may serve as a preview of the kind of challenge the House GOP leader will face in the future in trying to unite his conference with Republicans now in the majority.

The deal-making McCarthy has engaged in to try to win over critics may also mean he has a weaker hand to play in his position of authority if he does become speaker. McCarthy, though, has pushed back against that suggestion. “I think at the end of the day we’re going to be more effective, more efficient and that definitely government is going to work,” he said Friday.

In a sign of optimism before the 14th vote, McCarthy’s team had already been taking steps to organize the House soon after his expected victory, according to multiple GOP sources. McCarthy allies had told members to prepare for a very late night to approve a rules package after they are sworn into office, the sources said.

In a major shift, McCarthy and his allies successfully flipped more than a dozen GOP votes into his column Friday afternoon – the first sign of serious momentum in support of his speaker bid after a series of failed votes over the course of multiple days.

Here is a list of key concessions and promises McCarthy and his allies have made over the course of the negotiations, based on CNN reporting:

  • Any member can call for a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair – this is significant because it would make it much easier than it is currently to trigger what is effectively a no confidence vote in the speaker. Conservatives pushed hard for this, while moderates are worried it will weaken McCarthy’s hand.
  • A McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open Republican primaries in safe seats
  • The House will hold votes on key conservative bills, including a balanced budget amendment, congressional term limits and border security
  • Efforts to raise the nation’s debt ceiling must be paired with spending cuts. This could become a major issue in the future when it is time to raise the debt limit to avoid a catastrophic default because Democrats in the Senate and the White House would likely oppose demands for spending cuts
  • Move 12 appropriations bills individually. Instead of passing separate bills to fund government operations, Congress frequently passes a massive year-end spending package known as an “omnibus” that rolls everything into one bill. Conservatives rail against this, arguing that it evades oversight and allows lawmakers to stick in extraneous pet projects.
  • More Freedom Caucus representation on committees, including the powerful House Rules Committee
  • Cap discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels, which would amount to lower levels for defense and domestic programs
  • Seventy-two hours to review bills before they come to floor
  • Give members the ability to offer more amendments on the House floor
  • Create an investigative committee to probe the “weaponization” of the federal government
  • Restore the Holman rule, which can be used to reduce the salary of government officials

The 14 votes who flipped in favor of McCarthy on the 12th ballot are: Reps. Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Michael Cloud of Texas, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Byron Donalds of Florida, Mary Miller of Illinois, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Chip Roy of Texas, Victoria Spartz of Indiana (who had been voting present and had said she would continue to do so until she saw progress), Paul Gosar of Arizona and Reps.-elect Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Keith Self of Texas and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.

On the 13th ballot, McCarthy picked up one more supporter: Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland.

There are still six Republicans voting against McCarthy: Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Rep.-elect Eli Crane of Arizona.

Two members who have been absent for votes on Friday – Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado and incoming freshman Wesley Hunt of Texas – are expected to return Friday night. Both lawmakers are McCarthy supporters.

On the 12th round of voting, the final tally was 213 for McCarthy, four for Rep. Jim Jordan and three for Rep. Kevin Hern.

In the 13th round, McCarthy had 214 votes and Jordan had six.

The final tally in the 14th round was 216 for McCarthy, two for Biggs, two for Jordan and two voting present.

Part of the strategy to secure McCarthy the speakership was to get some of the holdouts to vote “present,” according to several sources. That would reduce the threshold for winning the speaker race below 218 since the rules say the winner of the race needs to have a majority of those voting for a specific candidate.

If two vote “present,” 217 votes are needed to win. If three vote “present,” that takes it down to 216 to win.

If just one person votes “present,” however, McCarthy would need to flip a holdout member to win.

Another plan from McCarthy’s allies had been to pick the remaining holdouts off one-by-one to get the speaker votes.

That strategy, according to sources involved, included leaning on former President Donald Trump to help squeeze the holdouts. Their camps have been in touch and believed Trump was willing to make some more calls. Another source said Trump was making calls for McCarthy.

So far, Trump’s entreaties have not moved the needle, but he also has not put much capital into it. Now Trump has an opportunity to claim victory with a McCarthy speakership actually in reach.

House GOP leaders are now actively working behind-the-scenes to head off a brewing revolt over the rules package that needs to be adopted in order to set the parameters for how the chamber will function over the next two years, according to GOP sources.

Members are upset they’ve been in the dark about the concessions that McCarthy made to the far-right in order to secure the votes to win the speakership. They are complaining they’ve learned more about those concessions in the news media and that there’s only been one conference call since the speaker’s election began on Tuesday, according to multiple sources.

The rules package, which is slated to be voted on after the speakership is set, includes some of the concessions that McCarthy gave to the far-right, including allowing any one member to call for a vote seeking the ouster of a sitting speaker.

But there’s growing grumbling in the ranks that members have not had enough time to review the rules package, and at least one member – Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas – said he would vote against it.

Top Republicans believe they will limit defections to less than five Republicans. But the difficulty in locking down the votes underscores how hard it will be to govern in the narrowly divided House.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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McCarthy gains several GOP votes but still lacks majority to win House speaker

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is trying again Friday to muster a majority on the floor to win the race for speaker after falling short in 13 rounds of voting, now into its fourth day this week. 

Though Republicans have not reached a deal yet, McCarthy predicted before the House convened Friday, “You’ll see some people who have been voting against me voting for me.” He was right — in the 12th round of voting over a dozen holdouts and a lawmaker who had said “present” in the past few rounds switched their votes in his favor.

In the 13th round, he gained one more, but still fell a few votes short. Two GOP members who missed the first votes Friday plan to return to Washington Friday night. If no one leaves, there will be 434 lawmakers voting, and McCarthy will need 218 to win. He had 214 in the 13th round. He will have to flip two holdouts or at least convince three holdouts to vote “present.” 

After the House adjourned until 10 p.m., McCarthy declared, “Ill have the votes” as he walked from the floor to his office.

Friday marked the first day McCarthy had a greater number of votes than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.

The speaker’s election has not exceeded nine rounds since before the Civil War.

On Friday morning, just before a 10:15 a.m. GOP conference call to present the framework of a deal with some of the GOP holdouts opposing him, McCarthy told CBS News, “We’re going to shock you.” But after that conference call, two people on the call told CBS News no deal had been reached. 

McCarthy made two key concessions to the 21 conservative holdouts on Wednesday. The first would lower the threshold for the motion to vacate the chair to just one House member, meaning that any single member could call for a vote to oust the speaker. The second would give the GOP holdouts the power to pick two of the nine members of the House Rules Committee, which holds considerable power over which legislation goes to the floor.

Despite those compromises, none of the holdouts supported McCarthy in any of the four rounds of voting on Thursday. 

The continuing impasse leaves the House effectively in limbo, since lawmakers must first elect a speaker before moving on to other business in the new Congress. 

Democrats have remained united behind New York’s Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black party leader in either chamber of Congress. Jeffries and his lieutenants said Democrats “are united and are committed to staying in Washington for as long as it takes to get the Congress organized.”  

Ellis Kim, Rebecca Kaplan and Alan He contributed to this report.

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Live Vote Count: Tracking the House Speaker Votes

On Thursday, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California offered new concessions to a group of ultraconservative Republicans that have prevented him from winning the majority of votes needed to secure the House speaker post.

The House is taking its eighth vote to name a speaker. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California still appears to lack the votes needed to win the position.

A table that shows the current tally for the most recent vote for speaker of the House.

LIVEEighth Speaker Vote Tally

Total Dem. Rep.

McCarthy

178 0 178

Donalds

15 0 15

Jeffries

200 200 0

Hern

2 0 2
1 0 1

Note: To win, a member must receive the majority of votes cast for a person, not counting “present” votes. The Constitution specifies that House members choose the speaker, but the speaker does not have to be a current or even a former representative.

Mr. McCarthy needs 218 votes if every member of Congress casts a ballot, so he only can afford to lose four Republican votes. In the seventh round of voting, held on Thursday, 19 Republicans voted for Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, one — Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida — voted for former President Donald J. Trump, and one voted “present.” All 212 Democrats voted for Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader.

Mr. McCarthy could win the speakership with fewer than 218 votes by persuading lawmakers who do not want to support him to instead vote “present” or to not vote at all.

A table that shows summary tallies for each ballot round of House speaker votes.

Ballot Round
McCarthy

Jeffries
Other Present
First 203 212 19 0
Second 203 212 19 0
Third 202 212 20 0
Fourth 201 212 20 1
Fifth 201 212 20 1
Sixth 201 212 20 1
Seventh 201 212 20 1
Eighth 178 200 18 0

Note: To win, a member must receive the majority of votes cast for a person, not counting “present” votes.

In the first vote held on Tuesday, 19 House Republicans voted for a Republican other than Mr. McCarthy. During the second vote, those same 19 opposed him but rallied around Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a founding member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus. Mr. Jordan pleaded with his colleagues to give their support to Mr. McCarthy, but all 19, plus an additional Republican, voted for Mr. Jordan on the third ballot.

In the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds of voting, held on Wednesday, the same 20 Republicans voted for Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, and one voted “present.” The House reconvened at noon Thursday to continue voting.

How Every Representative Voted

Members voting differently from the majority of their party are highlighted.

A list of each representatives’ votes during the rounds of House speaker votes.

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Live news updates from January 3: Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty, McCarthy loses three Speaker votes

Shoppers browse merchandise in a mall in Singapore’s Orchard Road © Isabel Kua/Reuters

Singapore’s economic growth exceeded government expectations last year as services grew despite a manufacturing contraction.

Gross domestic product grew 3.8 per cent in 2022, beating official estimates of 3.5 per cent, but well short of the 7.6 per cent growth in 2021.

The city-state’s economy grew by 2.2 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decline from the 4.2 per cent growth in the previous quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry noted. Seasonally adjusted, the economy expanded by 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

“We think growth is likely to weaken further,” said Shivaan Tandon, emerging Asia economist at Capital Economics. He said Singapore’s exports are likely to fall if the global economy enters a recession in 2023.

“Elevated interest rates, declining household savings and high inflation are likely to drag on domestic demand,” Tandon added. “We don’t expect further monetary tightening from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.”

The south-east Asian country’s manufacturing sector shrank 3 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, a reversal from the 1.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

“This came on the back of output contractions in the electronics, chemicals and biomedical manufacturing clusters, which outweighed output expansions in the precision engineering, transport engineering and general manufacturing clusters,” the ministry said.

The construction sector grew by 10.4 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, accelerating from 7.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter. “Both public and private sector construction output continued to recover,” the ministry said.

Services grew by 2.3 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, slower than the 5.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

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These 10 House Republicans flipped their votes on the same-sex marriage bill

The House has sent the Respect for Marriage Act to President Biden’s desk after all Democrats and 39 Republicans in the body voted to support the bill. 

The legislation, which passed in a 258-169-1 vote, would officially repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize interracial and same-sex marriages lawfully performed in other states. 

The House initially passed the bill in July before the Senate approved it last week along with amendments to add protections for religious exemptions and to clarify that it does not recognize polygamy. The House then needed to approve the bill as amended, which it did on Thursday. 

The bill received some measure of bipartisan support in both houses of Congress, but several Republicans in the lower chamber voted in favor of the bill in July before opposing it on the second vote, while a couple originally opposed it before voting in favor of it. 

Here are the 10 House Republicans who flipped their votes on the same-sex marriage bill:

“Yes” to “no”

Cliff Bentz 

Rep. Cliff Bentz (Ore.) originally voted for the bill in July before switching to a “no” vote on Thursday. He has not publicly explained his reasoning for switching his vote. 

Mario Diaz-Balart 

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.) also switched from voting in favor of the bill to voting against it. He said in a statement on Monday that he planned to oppose the legislation because it lacked “legitimate safeguards” for faith-based organizations that object to the law based on their religious beliefs. 

“The concept of all states respecting other states’ decisions on marriage laws is deeply rooted in American jurisprudence and tradition,” he said. “Similarly, our Founders understood that religious liberties are sacred and vulnerable, and must always be vigorously protected.” 

Brian Mast 

Rep. Brian Mast (Fla.) also took issue with the most recent version of the bill over concerns about protections for religious freedom. He said on the House floor before the vote that changes should be made to the text to protect the “free exercise thereof,” referring to a clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution protecting freedom of religion. 

He also criticized comments from Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), who said that amending the bill further would “unsettle the Senate’s carefully crafted compromise.” 

Dan Meuser 

Rep. Dan Meuser (Pa.) said in a statement on Twitter that the bill “goes beyond marriage” and weakens religious freedoms “fundamental to our nation,” and that he voted against it Thursday for that reason. He said the Senate’s version of the bill includes language that puts religious freedom in jeopardy and opens organizations up to civil lawsuits, unlike the House’s version. 

“Therefore, I cannot support the Senate Amendment to the Respect for Marriage Act because it jeopardizes the basic religious liberties of every American,” he said. 

Scott Perry 

Rep. Scott Perry (Pa.) indicated that his initial vote in favor of the bill was a mistake based on a lack of time he had to review it. Axios reported that Perry said the bill was rushed to the floor and he had just gotten to the floor as the vote was happening. 

“I knew I had a choice between voting against traditional marriage or voting against interracial marriage,” he said. 

“I just made the wrong choice,” he added. 

Maria Salazar 

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.) said in a statement after the vote that she was disappointed the final version of the bill did not include “full protections” for churches and Americans with “sincerely held religious beliefs.” 

She said Senate Republicans were prevented from including “vital protections” for religious Americans in the bill. She said she voted for the first version because she believes in “human dignity” and respect for all, but laws that advance one interest and ignore legal protections for others should not be passed. 

Jeff Van Drew 

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) initially voted for the bill but also cited concerns about religious freedom protections. He told Axios that he “absolutely” heard from many constituents who were upset with the bill and he found them persuasive.

“No” to “yes”

Mike Gallagher 

Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wis.) was one of the two Republicans who initially voted against the bill before later backing it. 

He told The Hill in a statement that a religious liberty amendment and a clarification that the bill does not permit polygamy that the Senate added led him to vote in favor of the bill the second time. 

“The Respect for Marriage Act fixes the polygamy loophole in Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi’s hastily written version and creates strong religious liberty protections for religious organizations, including schools, churches, and adoption agencies,” he said. 

Jaime Herrera Beutler 

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.) also flipped from opposing the bill in July to supporting it Thursday, but has not publicly shared her reasoning. She will be leaving Congress at the end of the term next month.

“Yes” to “present”

Burgess Owens 

Rep. Burgess Owens (Utah) initially voted in favor of the bill but was the only House member to vote “present” on Thursday. 

“While today is undoubtedly a giant step toward religious liberty, my lone ‘present’ vote signals a warning beacon that the war is far from won,” he tweeted. 

He said religious freedom cannot prevail unless individuals and small business owners have explicit protection under the law. He added that protecting churches and religious organizations is only “scratching the surface” of the scope of First Amendment rights.



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