After a shocking turn of events on Friday night that necessitated a 15th ballot in the contest for House speaker, Republican leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy received enough votes soon after midnight to become speaker of the House.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., smiles after winning the fifteenth vote in the House chamber as the House enters its fifth day of attempting to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress, early Saturday morning, January 7, 2023, in Washington. AP/Alex Brandon
His victory followed four days of voting and talks with far-right Republican conference members, who prevented a victory until the fifteenth round of voting. Now that a speaker has been chosen, those elected in November can take their oaths of office and the House can begin to organize. On Monday, the chamber will vote on a set of rules governing the 118th Congress, which contains some of the compromises McCarthy made in negotiations with conservative holdouts.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York hands the gavel to incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California on the House floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington early on Saturday, January 7, 2023. Andrew Harnik / AP
McCarthy triumphed 216-212, persuading enough of his Republican colleagues who had opposed him to vote for him. Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, and Matt Rosendale of Montana, who had deferred their support for McCarthy until the final vote, voted present.
“Therefore, the Honorable Kevin McCarthy of the state of California, having received a majority of the votes cast, is duly elected speaker of the House of Representatives,,” House clerk Cheryl Johnson announced at 12:38 a.m. as she recounted the final vote tally.
The House chamber was filled with chants of “USA, USA!”
Republicans erupted in wild applause, and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana embraced McCarthy as Rep.-elect Ryan Zinke of Montana cast the final vote in the alphabetical roll call.
After losing by a single vote in the fourteenth round, McCarthy’s chances of winning on Friday night suddenly seemed bleak. Gaetz cast a vote of “present” at the eleventh hour, and McCarthy needed his vote. Gaetz’s vote infuriated some of his colleagues, notably Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who was forcibly prevented by Representative Richard Hudson from confronting Gaetz.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, pulls Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, back as they converse with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, and others during the 14th round of voting for speaker during the House’s fourth day of attempting to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina) is positioned to the right. Andrew Harnik / AP
Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina offered a motion to stop the proceedings and adjourn for the day after Gaetz’s motion and McCarthy’s inability to reclaim the gavel left the chamber on the verge of adjourning for the weekend. However, just as it appeared like Republicans had enough votes to do so, a ruckus broke out on the floor, and Republicans raced to change their votes so that another round could be held. McCarthy instructed his Republican colleagues to take their seats “one more time.”
McCarthy, who has climbed through the ranks of the Republican leadership and served as the conference minority leader during the last four years of Democratic House control, secured his victory on the fifteenth ballot. Judy McCarthy, McCarthy’s wife, observed from the gallery during the voting.
McCarthy began reducing the number of votes cast against him on Friday morning, when 14 Republicans moved their votes from another GOP nominee or “present” to McCarthy. It was also the first time the Republican from California received more votes than the Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
McCarthy and his associates then concentrated on persuading the last holdouts and waiting for Republicans who had left Washington, D.C. for medical and family emergencies to return.
In more than a century and a half, the election of a speaker required the greatest number of ballots.
McCarthy follows Nancy Pelosi, who previously held the position of speaker in 2007 and 2019.
McCarthy had to make a number of compromises he had previously stated he would not entertain in order to gain sufficient support. He agreed to allow a single member to request a vote of no confidence in the speaker and to give the House Freedom Caucus three seats on the House Rules Committee, a vital group that crafts legislation prior to a vote on the floor.
Eventually, the capacity of a single member to launch a coup against McCarthy may return to haunt the newly elected speaker.
»Kevin McCarthy won the speaker election after four days and fifteen rounds of voting«