Rep. Kevin McCarthy has become Speaker of the House, after the longest fight for the position since the civil war, going to 15 rounds before being decided late on Friday night.
McCarthy finally won the position on Friday night, after four days of votes concluded with a victory for the California Republican. Initially, a group of around 21 Republicans consistently rebelled and refused to vote for McCarthy for Speaker, but 14 of the rebels peeled off to support him in the twelfth round of voting.
Reps. Dan Bishop, Josh Brecheen, Michael Cloud, Andrew Clyde, Byron Donalds, Paul Gosar, Anna Paulina Luna, Mary Miller, Ralph Norman, Andy Ogles, Scott Perry, Chip Roy, and Keith Self, who had voted for numerous other candidates, including Jim Jordan and Donalds himself, voted for McCarthy to cheers from their fellow Republicans on Friday afternoon.
Dan Bishop flips to McCarthy and receives a standing ovation from the Republicans. pic.twitter.com/Maync2Q5Ao
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 6, 2023
Rep. Victoria Spartz also voted for McCarthy in the twelfth round, having consistently voted “present” since Wednesday. Reps. Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Eli Crane, Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Andy Harris, and Matt Rosendale, all stuck by their anti-McCarthy votes, with Gaetz nominating Jordan, and Boebert backing Kevin Hern.
During the thirteenth round of voting, no alternative Republican candidate to McCarthy was nominated, marking the first time in the proceedings that this had occurred. Harris switched his vote to McCarthy, but no others did, ensuring that the California Republican still did not have a majority. The last anti-McCarthy holdouts all backed Jordan for Speaker.
After the House reconvened at 10 p.m., the fourteenth vote almost went in McCarthy’s favour. Despite Biggs and Good still voting for Jordan, and Crane and Rosendale backing Biggs, Boebert and Gaetz voted present, leaving McCarthy waiting, by only a single vote.
While Gaetz was speaking before the twelfth round to nominate Jordan, the Florida Representative was interrupted by Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois. Gaetz had previously backed 45th President Donald Trump to take the Speakership on Thursday.
Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) got up and screamed at Matt Gaetz as he tore into McCarthy. pic.twitter.com/JBlzvnHPIE
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 6, 2023
Rosendale appeared to have flipped his vote to McCarthy for a moment in the twelfth round, loudly shouting “Kevin,” but following it up with “Hern,” much to the amusement of many watching the proceedings.
Rep. Matt Rosendale yelled "Kevin" took a long pause and then said "Hern" instead of McCarthy lmfao. pic.twitter.com/12wvd7hPfT
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 6, 2023
Ultimately, McCarthy was elected with 216 Republican votes against 212 Democratic votes. Six voted present. It was the 15th round of voting.
McCarthy’s election was made possible when Reps. Biggs, Crane, Good, and Roy changed their vote to “present,” allowing McCarthy to win without the 218 votes typically necessary.
#KevinMcCarthy has won the Speakership after 4 Days of voting at the House Chamber. @GOPLeader has been elected as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. Sitting the stage for a Republican takeover of the House. https://t.co/Hsb2u4Fzow pic.twitter.com/w1ZKSxfc5q
— Ravener 🚲 (@Ravener85) January 7, 2023
As Valiant News reported, McCarthy revealed he had “dinner” with billionaire Klaus Schwab at the World Economic Forum in 2018 during remarks he made on a panel with Mitch McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, a shipping heiress of Chinese descent.
