Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R) was finally on the verge of winning the speaker’s gavel on Friday night as the House embarked on its 14th ballot after a handful of Republicans derailed the process over four humiliating days for the Californian.
Just six Republicans stand in the way of McCarthy winning after 14 of the 20 Republican rebels flipped earlier Friday on the 12th and 13th ballots after he agreed to a set of concessions that will weaken his hold over the party.
McCarthy needs to convince two of the remaining six to change their votes to reach a majority and win the speakership, or else McCarthy will need multiple detractors to vote “present” to lower the 218-vote threshold to win the gavel.
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The six Republicans continuing to vote against him in the last round were Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Bob Good (R-VA), and Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
They all voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who himself is supporting McCarthy. While the 14 members who changed their vote Friday were holding out for more concessions on the rules, the ones still withholding their votes are against McCarthy on more personal grounds. For example, Gaetz has accused McCarthy of corruption several times in speeches nominating other candidates for the position.
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Deals over the past three days of votes moved the needle on the totals enough for McCarthy to be painfully close to the position he’s chased for a decade. Voting could continue into the weekend if no one budges by the end of Friday.
The last time it took more than one ballot to elect a speaker was in 1923; it took a record 133 ballots in 1855.
