House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield lost again on Thursday in his seventh attempt to be elected speaker, extending the saga over which Republican will succeed Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco).
McCarthy signaled to reporters ahead of the ballot that he would again fall short because negotiations with some of his conservative antagonists are ongoing. After the sixth failed vote Wednesday afternoon, Republicans voted to adjourn until Wednesday evening to give McCarthy more time to win over skeptics. When they reconvened that evening, Republicans postponed the next vote again, to Thursday.
Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus who have supported an alternative to McCarthy for speaker want him to make more concessions to potentially win them over. The list of asks includes lowering the threshold so that a single member of the House Republican Conference can offer a motion to vacate the chair, a tool that could oust the speaker; placing more Freedom Caucus members and allies on the Rules Committee; and a commitment to hold a vote on term limits legislation for members of Congress.
“Nothing’s agreed to until everything’s agreed to,” McCarthy said.
The embattled Republican leader is 16 votes shy of being elected speaker, but there are members of the so-called “Never Kevin” caucus — which includes Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado — who insist they will never support him in a floor vote, calling into question whether he has a plausible path to the job at all.
“You never have to ask me again if I’m a no on Kevin McCarthy,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told reporters. “I will never vote for Kevin McCarthy.”
Although most of the 20 Republicans who have supported McCarthy alternatives on the floor voted for Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida on the seventh ballot, Gaetz voted for former President Trump.
