1/ The House adjourned without a speaker because Kevin McCarthy failed to win a majority in three rounds of voting and 20 Republicans rejected his candidacy. Until a speaker is elected, the 118th Congress can’t swear in members or perform actual work, like consider legislation or create committee assignments. A nominee needs a majority of the House to win the speakership – 218 votes with all members present and participating – and voting will continue until someone gets a majority. In the third round of voting, McCarthy received 202 votes and Jim Jordan received 20. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries received 212 Democratic votes. Before the third round of voting, Jordan called on Republicans to unite behind McCarthy, saying: “We better come together. I think Kevin McCarthy is the right guy to lead us. I really do.” McCarthy, however, lost support from one GOP lawmaker on the third ballot. McCarthy, meanwhile, acknowledged that voting “could” last for days and vowed to press ahead, saying: “we stay in until we win.” The speaker vote hasn’t gone to a second ballot since 1923, and of the 14 multiple ballot-elections for House speaker, 13 occurred before the Civil War. (Bloomberg / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Politico / NPR / Associated Press / NBC News / ABC News)
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2023/01/03/day-714/