WASHINGTON –
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy overruled 15 of his colleagues to back him in dramatic votes for House Speaker on Friday, making sweeping gains on the fourth day and 12th and 13th votes of a historic standoff that is testing American democracy. and the ability of the GOP majority to govern.
The swing votes of conservatives who abstained, including the chairman of the House’s Freedom Caucus, put McCarthy closer to picking up the gavel for the new Congress — but not yet. Republicans voted to adjourn until 10 p.m. to try again.
“I believe then we will have the votes to end this once and for all,” McCarthy told reporters.
The stunning reversal came after McCarthy agreed to many of the demands of opponents – including restoring a long-standing House rule that would allow any individual member to call a vote to remove him from office.
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.
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.
“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.
“We don’t trust Mr. McCarthy’s authority,” said Republican Matt Goetz of Florida, as his colleagues stormed the floor in protest of his remarks.
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.”
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.
On the 12th ballot, McCarthy won the most votes for the first time, 213. A 13th was quickly launched, this time right between McCarthy and the Democratic leader, and he collected another opponent, to 214.
With 432 members now voting – including the dramatic return of Democrat David Throne, who was out for surgery – McCarthy still fell short of a majority. Six Republicans voted for their fellow Republican. McCarthy’s allies were counting on the return of two absent colleagues to push him even closer to a majority in the overnight vote.
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.
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.
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.
At the heart of the emerging deal is the restoration of House rules that would allow a lawmaker to make a motion to “fire the speaker,” essentially triggering 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.
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.
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 pressure is growing by the day for McCarthy to somehow find the votes he needs or step down. Congress can’t function fully, the incoming Republican chairmen of the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees have said national security is at risk, staff are at risk of going without paychecks.
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 contributed to this report
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