Kevin McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes. What happens next is unclear, but it could be a step toward his collapse.
Kevin McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes. And even though there was no real movement either way on a fourth and fifth ballot Wednesday, and even though neither side appeared ready to fold, lawmakers were starting to have the types of conversations that could signal the next step.Unlike the three rounds of voting Tuesday, McCarthy was facing a new leading GOP contender on the fourth ballot: Rep. Byron Donalds , who had cast two separate votes for him just 24 hours ago.
In between votes, McCarthy’s allies were working the room after it was clear there would be at least another round. Rep. Tom Emmer , set to be Majority Whip, spent a long time in the aisle of the chamber talking to Donalds, as well as Reps. Bob Good and Lauren Boebert . Meanwhile, Rep.-elect George Santos migrated from where he sat on Tuesday—alone in the back of chamber—to sitting with conservatives in the center aisle. At one point on Wednesday, he went over to Gaetz and had a prolonged discussion with him.
Murmurs—presumably from confusion, surprise, and a continued sense of schadenfreude—emerged on the Democratic side of the chamber. As Roy pointed out, Donalds’ nomination made for the first time in history two Black people would be nominated as speaker. Democrats and Republicans stood in applause at that fact, including McCarthy and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries .
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