After closing out 11 total rounds on Thursday, the House will be back in session today to pick up where it left off.
The stalemate remains between Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the 20 “Never Kevin” caucus members who refuse to support his bid for Speaker of the House.
For his part, McCarthy hasn’t done much to speak out and provide leadership or an argument for his own candidacy. Instead, he’s relied on surrogates to make the case for him. It’s certainly better sometimes to let others speak on your behalf and show humility. However, at this point, McCarthy might need to start making the case for himself.
Live Stream – 118th Congress – Speaker Vote Day 4
Once again, the voting will pick up around noon eastern time with what could be several more rounds of voting.
Will today bring good news for McCarthy or will it be more of the same with endless roll call votes and endless defeat?
Things look pretty much as they stood on Thursday:
McCarthy has given no indication that he would drop out of the contest to lead the House, which would also, under a provision of the U.S. Constitution, make him second in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
Republicans hold a slim 222-212 margin over Democrats in the new session of the 118th Congress, with one current vacancy, meaning McCarthy can lose the support of no more than four Republicans and still be able to reach a majority of 218.
McCarthy has acceded to several of the right-wing lawmakers’ demands, including allowing a single member to call for a snap internal House election to vacate the speakership if they don’t approve of his legislative policies or the way he is overseeing the chamber.
He has also promised them key committee assignments and full House votes on some of their legislative priorities, such as imposing term limits on lawmakers and stronger border controls to curb undocumented migrants from entering the U.S. across the southwestern border with Mexico.
McCarthy briefly spoke to reporters in the Capitol on Thursday night after voting wrapped up:
McCarthy sounds…. very optimistic for a man who just lost 11 rounds of voting. He says progress is being made and that “it’s how you finish” that matters. In that regard, what’s the end game to get this finished? He’s also right in chastising reporters who put a time limit on the process. There is no time limit, it’s a process that can go on as long as necessary.
For the rebuttal, of sorts, to McCarthy’s optimism, here’s Rep. Matt Gaetz speaking with Laura Ingraham last night to admit that under no circumstances, even with concessions, will he back McCarthy for Speaker:
What Gaetz got painted into, similar to Rep. Lauren Boebert earlier in the week with Sean Hannity, is that they won’t provide a path to support McCarthy. There’s a veneer that sounds as if McCarthy would just offer certain concessions, maybe they’d come around. When you drill down further, however, they simply think McCarthy is a swamp creature that will throw in with the establishment.
There are worthwhile arguments on both sides for and against McCarthy as Speaker and there’s still no indication as to when or how this impasse will end.
Buckle up for another day of voting that might very well wind up spilling into the weekend and possibly into next week if needed.
