House Republicans opened the second day of the new Congress, with no clear off-ramp from the political chaos over electing a new speaker.
For a fifth time, Republicans tried to vote McCarthy into the top job as the House plunged deeper into disarray. That came moments after the fourth vote showed 20 conservative holdouts still refusing to support him, unchanged from the previous time around and leaving him far short of the 218 votes typically needed to win the gavel.
Yet the California Republican vowed to keep fighting despite losing in multiple rounds of voting that threw the new majority into tumult a day earlier. Animated private discussions broke out on the chamber floor between McCarthy supporters and detractors searching for an endgame. "This country needs leadership," said Rep. Chip Roy, the Texas Republican noting the first time in history two Black Americans were nominated for the high office, and lawmakers from both parties rose to applaud.
"Today, is that the day I wanted to have? No," McCarthy told reporters late Tuesday at the Capitol after a series of closed-door meetings. Asked if he would drop out, McCarthy said, "It’s not going to happen."for a bipartisan event in Kentucky with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell"I just think it’s really embarrassing it’s taking so long," Biden said.
McCarthy won no more than 203 votes in three rounds of voting, losing as many as 20 Republicans from his slim 222-seat majority, As the spectacle of voting dragged on, McCarthy's backers implored the holdouts to fall in line for the California Republican. "The American people are watching, and it's a good thing," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who nominated fellow conservative Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as an alternative for speaker.
Late Tuesday, pizza, Chick-fil-A and tacos were carried into various meeting rooms at the Capitol after the failed votes as McCarthy supporters and detractors hunkered down to figure out how to elect a speaker.
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