The U.S. House of Representatives retired for a following night earlier this week without voting for a new leader after GOP leader Kevin McCarthy was defeated in six straight votes for the position.
House Adjourns Again
After quite a delay of a few hours early in the night, the House recessed on Wednesday night to allow Republicans more chances to persuade 20 of the party’s hardest conservative members who have been delaying McCarthy’s bid for speaker.
The House reconvened soon after 8 p.m. ET, only to vote swiftly to postpone until midday on Thursday.
McCarthy informed reporters in the Capitol just before adjournment that he had not reached an agreement with his adversaries, but he had made significant progress.
McCarthy stated he didn’t believe a vote today would change anything, but it will in the future.
The House was in chaos, owing in large part to the fact that rank-and-file representatives cannot be sworn in until such time as a speaker has been elected. All 434 members of the House were therefore officially still members-elect and not authorized voting representatives.
On Wednesday, the repercussions of this unprecedented procedural impasse were felt throughout Capitol Hill.
Someone needs to step up & LEAD—
McCarthy isn’t the choice of the People.
Jim Jordan doesn’t want the Gavel & we need him to Chair Judiciary.
Rally around @ByronDonalds & WHIP THE VOTE.
It’s only hard because no one will step up & crack that whip.pic.twitter.com/DLcWPmy0Jc
— Tricia Flanagan (R-NJ) (@NewDayForNJ) January 5, 2023
Rep. Billy Long noted a number of constituent services were effectively suspended until the new Congress was inaugurated.
Long posted to Twitter concerning who can lawfully assist any and all of the citizens with concerns that they typically manage. He then listed Passports, IRS, Veteran’s Affairs, SBA, Post Office, Immigration, Corps of Engineers, etc.
He also challenged the allocation of congressional salary. Who is being compensated? Outbound or inbound?
Some freshly appointed members’ staff workers informed the media that they could not get into their official email accounts as their supervisors hadn’t yet been sworn in.
Rep. Scott Perry, a McCarthy opponent, speculated on Wednesday evening that it may be many days before the Republican Party settles on a leader. He said he hoped he was wrong, but this could continue into the weekend.
For anti-McCarthy Republicans, it’s not about finding a better alternative. It’s about proving they can and will hold a Republican leader accountable.
My latest on @amconmag:https://t.co/TLmrMMLenW
— Bradley Devlin (@bradleydevlin) January 5, 2023
In multiple rounds of voting on Wednesday, a small core of 20 GOP hardliners supported Florida Representative Byron Donalds, depriving McCarthy of the 218 votes he needed to assume the gavel.
All 212 Democrats voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to become the party’s next Minority Leader.
Over the period of five hours of deliberation, the environment on the House floor became ever more confrontational as McCarthy’s supporters became incredibly agitated and as Democrats grew impatient.
Resolution Not Reached
Rep. Lauren Boebert chose Donalds in the fifth round of voting prior to requesting McCarthy’s withdrawal.
Boebert stated on the House floor, in reference to former President Trump, that he’s always been her favorite president and should phone in to tell McCarthy to give up, as he doesn’t have the required amount of votes.
