Posted on 01/04/2023 12:53:20 PM PST by Red Badger
Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A sixth vote on whether Kevin McCarthy will lead Republicans as speaker of the House is set to take place on Wednesday.
After losing five previous ballots, Florida Rep. Kat Cammack, nominated McCarthy for a sixth time.
"Are we the party of Reagan," Cammack said. "That is the question I ask you to answer as we embark on this next ballot."
During the fourth and fifth ballots, McCarthy received 201 votes, while the Democratic Nominee, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, received 212 votes from Democrats as he did in each vote on Tuesday.
However, this time it was Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, instead of Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who took votes away from McCarthy. Donalds received 20 votes on the fourth and fifth ballots.
Opposition to McCarthy has been growing with each ballot. A total of 20 Republican colleagues opposed McCarthy during the third vote on Tuesday, which wrapped up shortly before 5 p.m., an increase from 19 during the second vote. He had collected 202 votes on the third ballot on Tuesday, one more than Wednesday's fourth ballot.
Rep.-elect Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., voted present in the fourth and fifth votes, voting for McCarthy in previous rounds.
Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., nominated McCarthy for the fourth vote on Wednesday, saying he was the best choice to lead the party as the House convened for a fourth vote to settle the chamber's leadership.
"I believe that in my bones, nobody has done more to lay out a plan for how we restore the basic functioning of this institution than Kevin McCarthy," he said.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., nominated Jeffries for both the fourth and fifth vote, while Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, nominated Donalds.
"We do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin but rather the content of their character," Roy said. "There's an important reason for nominating Byron, and that is, this country needs a change."
Tuesday's vote marked the first time in 100 years a speaker has not been elected on the first ballot.
McCarthy expressed optimism on Tuesday night that he would still emerge victorious, even though some Republicans have suggested that McCarthy could lose more votes.
"This isn't about me," McCarthy told reporters. "This is about the conference now because the members who are holding out ... they want something for their personal selves."
McCarthy also told reporters that it doesn't matter if he loses more votes.
"It doesn't matter -- I have the most votes," he said.
Donalds had voted for McCarthy during the first two rounds, but voted against him during the third round. He suggested that McCarthy could lose more votes the longer voting goes on.
McCarthy has reportedly said that there is no scenario where he pulls out of the race for speaker, noting that he could seek a path in which he does not need to secure 218 votes, but rather a smaller majority by convincing some of his detractors to vote "present."
"You're sitting on 202 votes, so you need technically just 11 more votes to win," he said. "Democrats have 212 votes. You get 213 votes, and the others don't say another name, that's how you can win."
Ahead of Tuesday's votes, McCarthy had announced several concessions in a proposed House rules package, including changes to how the speaker could be removed, in an effort to gain the necessary votes. The concessions would allow any five Republican party members to call for the speaker's removal at any time, rather than a threshold of more than half of the House GOP conference that Republicans adopted in an internal rule in November.
Despite the concessions, several Republicans followed through on their plan to vote for Jordan.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia criticized fellow Republicans who opposed McCarthy, noting that even Jordan is supporting McCarthy.
"How did 19 Republicans not respect that?" Greene said. "I think 19, or 20 now, should respect Jim Jordan's wishes."
Former President Donald Trump said the Republicans should vote for McCarthy.
"I think it is a dangerous game, and, frankly, if they are not happy with him, they can do something about it at a later date," Trump told Fox News Digital in an interview. "I support [McCarthy] and I support getting the deal done. What I don't support is allowing this to continue onward."
With six, you get eggroll.
Dems will probably toss a few dozen votes to McCarthy to see if he gets over the line.
Comparing him to Reagan is going to leave actual stretch marks
Why even bother with the vote if you don’t have enough ?
If a candidate for Speaker voted to fund the Department of Education, House Republicans shouldn’t vote for the candidate.
I just KNEW the Chicoms were involved in all of this!
/sarc
NO!
Yep. It’s the Texas option.
That’s how they had pathetic house for years.
Exactly how many “votes” do they get? Is there a cutoff point?
I am surprised they haven't- considering he is one of them.
Then the RINO bastige could say he was elected by a 'bi-partisan' group.
And offer them committee chairs.
Like the Judiciary, if he promised not to investigate the laptop.
No. The record is 133, way back before the Civil War..............
It’s getting ridiculous, now. It’s will go into a 7th vote unless he gets some sense.
And there is another part of the problem on perfect display. Do what you're told and toe the line.
What's Marjorie's angle in all of this?
How many shots did Tin Cup Kevin Costner hit before he holed it?
McCarthy has five putted so far.
McTurd is already a 5 time Loser
Good committee assignments probably.............
:)
Then the Drive By Media will tell us over and over that it's proof that conservatives (not Republicans) are fractured.
While simultaneously telling us that any time he does anything the Dims want that he has a "mandate" to do so with his "landslide" win as speaker.
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