Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. lost another vote for House speaker on Wednesday, extending the process to at least a fifth ballot and extending the embarrassment for Republicans.
, saying,"I earned this job." He and his allies have vowed to continue with as many votes as it takes, but it's possible he will be forced to withdraw or a consensus candidate will emerge.
The last time the selection of a House speaker took more than one ballot was 1923, when nine ballots were required for Frederick Gillett to take the gavel. It took the 34th Congress, convened in 1855, 133 ballots and two months to settle on Nathaniel Prentice Banks. Democrats were united behind New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who succeeded former Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the party’s House leader last month after she stepped down. Pelosi, still in office as a rank-and-file member, was cheered Tuesday when she voted for Jeffries on the first ballot.
"This is their problem,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday. “Their lack of respect for this institution. Their lack of respect for the responsibility that we all have to respect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Get the job done for the American people." Asked how she would describe this moment, she added,"This is very sad."
Speaking at the White House Wednesday morning, President Biden called the chaos among Republicans “embarrassing” and “not a good look,” adding, “I hope they get their act together” and noting that his focus was on “getting things done.”On Tuesday, the Senate selected Democrat Patty Murray of Washington as the first female president pro tem in the chamber's history, replacing retiring Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt.
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