Republican Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the US House in a historic 15th post-night vote early Saturday, overcoming resistance from his own ranks and floor tensions that boiled over after a chaotic week that tested the new Republican majority’s ability to govern.
After four days of grueling voting, McCarthy flipped more than a dozen conservative stalwarts to become supporters, including the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, leaving him a few shy to take the hammer of the new Congress.
When the House resumed for the night session, McCarthy had come close to victory in the 14th round, but fell short by one vote.
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He walked to the back of the chamber to confront Matt Gaetz, sitting with Lauren Boebert and other holdouts. Fingers were pointed, words were exchanged and violence seems to have been avoided.
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At one point, Republican Mike Rogers of Alabama began charging toward Gaetz before another Republican, Richard Hudson, physically pushed him back.
“Be civil!” someone shouted.
Rep. Richard Hudson, RNC, left, backs off Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., as they talk with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and others during the 14th round of voting for speaker as to president 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 Harnik).
Republicans quickly moved to adjourn, but then McCarthy stepped forward to change his vote to remain in session as his colleagues chanted “One more time!”
The few Republican holdovers also began voting present, dropping the tally needed to finally pick up the hammer in what was headed for a dramatic finish in the fourth long day of a grueling showdown that has shown 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 the detractors’ demands, including the reinstatement of a long-standing House rule that would have allowed any member to call a vote to remove him from office.
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Even if McCarthy is able to get the votes he needs, he will emerge as a weakened speaker, having ceded some power and constantly under threat of being rejected by his detractors.
But he could also take heart as a survivor of one of the most brutal hammer fights in American history. Not since the time of the Civil War has a speaker’s vote been carried through so many rounds of voting.
The standoff that has stymied the new Congress came against the backdrop of the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which shook the country when a crowd of supporters of then-President Donald Trump tried prevent Congress from certifying the defeat of the 2020 Republican election to Democrat Joe Biden.
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At a Capitol event on Friday, some lawmakers, mostly Democrats, observed a moment of silence and praised the officers who helped protect Congress that day. And at the White House, Biden presented medals to officers and others who fought the attackers.
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“America is a land of law, not chaos,” he said.
In the afternoon speaker vote, a few show-weary Republicans walked out temporarily when one of McCarthy’s most ardent challengers railed against the GOP leader.
The outlines of a deal with conservatives who have been blocking McCarthy’s rise emerged after three grim days and 11 failed votes in an intra-party showdown not seen in modern times.
And an optimistic McCarthy told reporters when he arrived at the Capitol: “We’re going to move forward. We’re going to surprise you.”
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A major former holdout, Republican Scott Perry, chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus who had led Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election, tweeted after his switch to McCarthy: “We are at a tipping point.” .
Another Republican contender, Byron Donalds of Florida, who has been repeatedly named as an alternate candidate for speaker, also switched to voting for McCarthy on Friday.
Trump may have played a role in influencing the resisters. Donalds said he had spoken with the former president who had been urging Republicans to end their public spat the day before.
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When Rep. Mike Garcia nominated McCarthy for Friday, he also thanked the U.S. Capitol Police who received a standing ovation for protecting lawmakers and the legislative headquarters of democracy on Jan. 6.
But in nominating Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat Jim Clyburn recalled the horror of that day and told his colleagues, “Today the eyes of the country are upon us,” he said.
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Without a speaker, the chamber cannot swear in members and begin its 2023-24 session, a sign of the difficulty ahead for the new Republican majority as it tries to govern.
Choosing a speaker is usually an easy and cheerful task for a party that has just won majority control. But not this time: About 200 Republicans have been stymied by 20 far-right colleagues who said he’s not conservative enough.
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The disorganized start to the new Congress pointed to difficulties ahead with Republicans who now control the House, just as some previous Republican speakers, including John Boehner, had trouble leading a rebellious right wing. The result: government shutdowns, infighting and Boehner’s early retirement when conservatives threatened to oust him.
The deal McCarthy presented to naysayers from the Freedom Caucus and others focuses on the rule changes they’ve been seeking for months. These changes would reduce the power of the speaker’s office and give grassroots lawmakers more influence in crafting and passing legislation.
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At the heart of the emerging deal is the reinstatement of a House rule that would allow a single lawmaker to make a motion to “vacate the chair,” essentially calling a vote to oust the speaker. McCarthy had been reluctant to allow a return to the old rule that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi had abolished, because it had been held up by the previous Republican Speaker Boehner. But it seems McCarthy had no other choice.
Other wins for holdouts are darker and include provisions in the proposed deal to expand the number of seats available on the House Rules Committee, to mandate 72 hours for bills to be released before votes, and to promise to attempt a constitutional amendment that would impose federal limits on the number of terms a person could serve in the House and Senate.
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What began as a political first, the first time since 1923 that a candidate had not won the gavel on the first ballot, has turned into a bitter Republican Party dispute and a deepening potential crisis.
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Before Friday’s polls, Democratic front-runner Jeffries of New York had won the most votes in all polls, but he also fell short of a majority. McCarthy was second, not gaining ground.
The longest fight for the gavel began in late 1855 and spanned two months, with 133 ballots, during the slavery debates leading up to the Civil War.
AP writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Kevin Freking and video reporters Nathan Ellgren and Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.