January 4, 2023 |
In Washington, D.C., newly elected congresswoman Harriett Hageman was not one of the 20 Republicans who voted for someone other than Kevin McCarthy to be the next speaker of the House.
When the House reading clerk called her name, Hageman cast her vote for McCarthy to lead the chamber.
The vote was Hageman’s first after being sworn into replace Liz Cheney and Republicans retook control of the lower chamber of Congress. McCarthy’s fate is still undecided, though. The House adjourned Monday without selecting a new speaker to replace Nancy Pelosi. McCarthy, who is the GOP conference’s nominee, was thwarted by a band of conservatives who seek to derail his nomination. Florida’s Matt Gaetz led the charge Monday. With Hageman sitting behind him on the Republican side of the aisle, Gaetz nominated Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Jordan himself nominated McCarthy.
After three separate votes Tuesday, the House abruptly adjourned at 5 p.m. after three failed attempts to elect a speaker. McCarthy needs 218 votes to become speaker. Republicans will seat 222 lawmakers, so McCarthy can leave only four GOP minds unchanged. He won 202 votes on the third round, one less than in the first two rounds of voting. The California Republican said he’s not giving up the fight to win the gavel.
The last time the vote for a new speaker went past the first ballot was 100 years ago, in 1923. No work can be done in the House until a speaker is elected. Under House rules, they will just keep voting until someone gets a majority. In the ante-bellum year of 1855, the process took two months.
