Kevin McCarthy has failed to get elected Speaker of the House after failing to win a support of a majority of his colleagues 14 times, the most number of times the House has had to deliberate to elect a Speaker since before the civil war.
McCarthy’s biggest challenge in attaining the gavel came from a group of 20 firebrand conservative members who opposed McCarthy for failing to deliver major wins in the 2022 midterms and management of the House Republican caucus.
McCarthy and his team seemed more hopeful entering the 14th after managing to gain votes in the 13th round, when many of the holdouts began to switch to McCarthy’s camp after the Republican leader made major concessions, including committee and leadership representation, and an easier process of removing the Speaker.
However 6 hold outs kept McCarthy one single vote away from the gavel, leading to a tense exchange on the house floor. A 15th round is now expected
Final Tally: McCarthy-216, Jeffries-212, Other-4, Present-2