Republican Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in a historic vote after midnight on the 15th early Saturday, overcoming resignations from his own ranks and simmering tensions after a chaotic week that tested the mettle of the new majority on The Republican Party to govern.
After four days of grueling voting, McCarthy turned more than a dozen conservative candidates to become supporters, including the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, leaving just a few shy of picking up the gavel for the new Congress.
When the House resumed late in the evening, McCarthy was on the cusp of a 14th round victory, but fell short of a vote.
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He went to the back of the room to confront Matt Goetz, sitting with Lauren Bobert and other opponents. Fingers were pointed, words were exchanged, and apparently violence was simply averted.
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At one point, Republican Mike Rogers of Alabama began lunging at Goetz before another Republican, Richard Hudson, physically pulled him back.
“Be civil!” someone shouted.
Rep. Richard Hudson, RN.C., left, pulls up Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., as they speak with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and others during the 14th round of voting for Speaker of the House meets for a fourth day to try to elect a speaker and convene the 118th Congress in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. At right is Rep. Patrick McHenry, RN.C. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnick).
Republicans quickly moved to adjourn, but then McCarthy rushed forward to change his vote to stay in session as colleagues chanted “One more time!”
The few Republican candidates also began voting in attendance, missing the margin he needed to finally pick up the gavel in what was heading for a dramatic finale to the fourth long day of a grueling standoff that showed the strengths and fragility of American democracy.
McCarthy had told reporters earlier in the day that he believed “we will have the votes to end this once and for all.”
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The day’s stunning turn of events came after McCarthy agreed to many of his opponents’ demands — including restoring a long-standing House rule that would allow any individual member to call a vote to remove him from office.
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Even if McCarthy manages to secure the votes he needs, he will emerge as a weakened speaker who has given away some powers and is constantly under threat of being ousted by his detractors.
But he can also take heart as a survivor of one of the most brutal battles over the gavel in US history. Not since the Civil War era has the speaker’s vote been dragged through so many rounds of voting.
The conflict that has tripped up the new Congress comes amid the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that shook the country when a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump tried to stop Congress from certifying the Republican defeat in the election in 2020 by Democrat Joe Biden.
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At an event at the Capitol on Friday, some lawmakers, mostly Democrats, observed a moment of silence and praised the officials who helped protect Congress that day. And at the White House, Biden handed out medals to officers and others who fought the attackers.
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“America is a land of law, not chaos,” he said.
During the afternoon speaker’s vote, a number of Republicans, tired of the spectacle, temporarily walked out as one of McCarthy’s fiercest rivals confronted the GOP leader.
The outlines of the deal with the Conservatives that blocked McCarthy’s rise emerged after three dark days and 11 failed votes in an intra-party standoff unseen in modern times.
And an optimistic McCarthy told reporters when he arrived at the Capitol: “We will make progress. We will shock you.”
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One notable former opponent, Republican Scott Perry, chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus who led Trump’s 2020 reelection effort, tweeted after switching his vote for McCarthy: “We are at a tipping point.” .
Another Republican, Byron Donalds of Florida, who has repeatedly been nominated as an alternative presidential candidate, also changed his mind Friday, voting for McCarthy.
Trump may have played a role in swaying opponents. Donalds said he had spoken with the former president, who the previous day had urged Republicans to end their public spat.
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As Congressman Mike Garcia nominated McCarthy on Friday, he also thanked the U.S. Capitol Police, who were applauded for protecting lawmakers and the Legislative Center for Democracy on Jan. 6.
But in nominating Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat Jim Clyburn recalled the horror of that day and told his colleagues, “The eyes of the country are on us today,” he said.
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Without a speaker, the chamber cannot swear in members and begin its 2023-24 session, a sign of difficulties ahead for the new Republican majority as it tries to govern.
Choosing a speaker is usually an easy, joyous task for a party that has just won majority control. But not this time: About 200 Republicans were blocked by 20 far-right colleagues who said he was not conservative enough.
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The disorganized start to the new Congress pointed to difficulties ahead for Republicans who now control the House, much as some previous Republican speakers, including John Boehner, have had trouble leading a renegade right wing. The result: a government shutdown, a standoff and Boehner’s early retirement as conservatives threatened to oust him.
The agreement McCarthy presented to opponents from the Freedom Forum and others centered around rule changes they have sought for months. These changes will reduce the powers of the Speaker’s office and give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in drafting and passing legislation.
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At the heart of the emerging deal is the restoration of a House rule that would allow a lawmaker to make a motion to “fire the speaker,” essentially calling for a vote to remove the speaker. McCarthy resisted allowing a return to the long-standing rule, which former Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed because it was ignored by the previous Republican speaker, Boehner. But McCarthy seems to have had no choice.
Other victories for absentees are more obscure and include provisions in the proposed deal to expand the number of seats available on the House Rules Committee, to set 72 hours for bills to be published before a vote, and to promise to try for a constitutional amendment that would impose federal limits on the number of terms a person can serve in the House and Senate.
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What began as a political novelty, the first time since 1923 that a candidate did not win the first-ballot gavel, has turned into a bitter GOP feud and a deepening potential crisis.
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Before Friday’s vote, Democratic front-runner Jeffries of New York had won the most votes in every vote, but also fell short of a majority. McCarthy ran second without gaining a seat.
The longest battle over the gavel began in late 1855 and lasted two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery on the eve of the Civil War.
AP writers Mary Claire Jalonik and Kevin Freking and video journalists Nathan Elgren and Mike Pezzoli contributed to this report.
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