Gaetz, Boebert Help Drag GOP Speaker Stalemate Into Jan. 6 Anniversary

After another day of failed attempts to elect a speaker of the House, Republican lawmakers pushed the battle over the gavel into the anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Members of Congress on Thursday tried for a third day to break the stalemate, but California Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy failed to receive enough votes in the seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th or 11th ballot. Hardline conservatives in his party have refused to give him the 218 votes needed to take the speakership. With a slim majority of 222 seats, McCarthy can't lose more than four GOP votes.

Over the last week, a group of 20 House Republicans have repeatedly blocked McCarthy from the speakership. Even after he offered concessions on Wednesday night, his defectors returned for another day of opposition.

Now, the vote will head to a fourth day—January 6, 2023, which will also mark the two-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol. The House adjourned just after 8 p.m. ET Thursday and will resume at noon Friday.

Two years ago, supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election by preventing a joint session of Congress from certifying the Electoral College votes. Five people died as a result of the siege and four Capitol police officers who responded died by suicide in the aftermath.

A House committee investigating January 6 has extensively probed the riot and presented its findings in a number of public hearings over the last six months.

Less than a month ago, in the 10th and final hearing, committee members recommended that Trump and others involved in the attack be criminally charged by the Department of Justice. The committee referred Trump for five crimes, including inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to make a false statement.

While the anti-McCarthy votes have all gone to various GOP lawmakers, those voices seemed to find consensus in the second to sixth ballot, rallying behind the likes of Representatives Byron Donalds and Jim Jordan.

However, those dissenters split again on Thursday as Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz nominated a Republican who was not in the House: Trump. No other lawmakers voted for the former president, who himself has endorsed McCarthy for speaker.

But Trump's backing seemed worthless to McCarthy's critics, who even called out the former president from the House floor and urged him to reverse his endorsement.

"[Trump] needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw," Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert said Wednesday.