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Representative Matt Gaetz nominated former President Donald Trump as the next House Speaker as Congress remains in a stalemate over who will lead the chamber.
As the vote went to a seventh ballot on Thursday, almost all the anti-McCarthy votes remained in favor of Representative Byron Donalds, but Gaetz drew gasps from the House floor as he called out the name of the former president. Trump has endorsed McCarthy for speaker.
In the previous ballots, Gaetz had voted for Representatives Andy Biggs, Jim Jordan and Byron Donalds.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been unable to find a path to the speakership as a group of 20 House Republicans refuse to move from their opposition of McCarthy. With a slim majority—222 seats in the House—McCarthy cannot stand to lose more than four GOP votes to reach the necessary 218 votes.
His third day of defeat comes even after the California Republican offered fresh concessions to his critics, proposing a deal on Wednesday evening that would give individual rank-and-file members veto power over the gavel, among other demands made by hardline conservatives in the party.
The failure to find consensus among the Republican Party also marks the first time in over 100 years that a speaker was not elected on the first ballot.
Last year, Gaetz spokesperson told Newsweek the Florida Republican was preparing to nominate Trump for the gavel.
"Congressman Gaetz plans to nominate President Trump to be Speaker and has no personal ambition for the position. Congressman Gaetz has never run for Speaker, unlike his friend and mentor Jim Jordan. It is unlikely that the desire to be Speaker is an itch that goes away with one scratch," the spokesperson said in February 2022.
Although no longer holding office, Trump has become a key voice in the vote over the next House Speaker. After failing to be elected to the gavel on Tuesday, McCarthy called the former president who renewed his endorsement of the minority leader.
But, Trump's support did little to sway McCarthy's defectors and actually prompted a direct callout on the House floor from Representative Lauren Boebert who said Trump needs to reverse his position on McCarthy.
"[Trump] needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw," Boebert, who has voted against McCarthy on all seven ballots, said in a floor speech on Wednesday.
Update 01/05/23 1:38 p.m. ET: This article was updated with more information.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more