The United States House of Representatives FAILED to elect a new Speaker on the first ballot today. That hasn't happened since the year 1923. Prior to that, it only happened in the year 1855 and back then, it took TWO MONTHS to elect a Speaker!
Not even a quarter of the way through roll call, and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to secure enough votes to become Speaker of the House - which will push the contest into a multiple-ballot vote.
We are into uncharted territory: No one in House chamber right now has ever been alive for a multiple-ballot vote for House speaker, let alone seen one in person.
With 7 votes from Republicans for someone other than Kevin McCarthy, we are certain to head to a 2nd ballot.
After McCarthy fails to get 218 votes on the first ballot, the Freedom Caucus antagonists have signaled that they will start backing another yet-unnamed candidate on the second ballot. The Daily Beast reported Monday night that that person is Ohio Rep. JIM JORDAN, the longtime McCarthy critic-turned-ally.
The Ohio Republican, however, has no shot at being speaker — something that his adoring conservative colleagues know very well. But, per the Daily Beast story, that’s not the point: They’re hoping to peel off more Republicans to back Jordan, aiming to have McCarthy’s vote count decrease from the first ballot to the second.
It’s an open question how long today will go until someone nominates a viable candidate for the gavel — someone like STEVE SCALISE (R-La.) or PATRICK McHENRY (R-N.C.). And there’s a fear that if one of these member’s names is called too early in the process, the conference will turn on them.
Buckle up. It’s going to be a long day.
For those unaware, it may interest you to know why there are so many holdouts against McCarthy. He has been described as "the biggest alligator" in the "swamp" that Washington, DC has been called. One does not "drain the swamp" by electing the biggest alligator as Speaker of the House.
Need proof? Do you remember who made a formal nomination speech in support of KEVIN McCARTHY to be SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE on January 3, 2019? *****It was your new best friend LIZ CHENEY*****
And now you know why Kevin McCarthy did not get a criminal referral to DOJ from the January6thCmte.
UPDATE 2:04 PM EST --
McCarthy - 202
Jeffries - 211
Biggs - 10
Other - 9
Jeffries is the Democrat but because he did not get 218 votes, he does not win as Speaker of the House. A Speaker nominee MUST get a majority of the House, which, when the House is full, is 218 votes.
This benefits so many invested powers. They can’t swear in any new members of the House without a Speaker. They can’t run committees, pass legislation, or do much of anything. On the surface, that seems fine. Deeper, though…that means not only more of the disastrous ‘status quo,’ but many of those exceptionally dangerous plans will run wild and without oversight. Bad stuff will happen every hour, every day this goes on.
