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Members of The House of Representatives again failed to elect a new speaker on Thursday as a minority of Republicans continued to oppose Representative Kevin McCarthy in an 11th ballot.
No contest for speaker has gone beyond nine ballots since 1923 and the House will reconvene at noon on Friday and try again to choose a speaker for the 118th Congress.
Friday also marks two years since the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 when a group of supporters of former President Donald Trump entered the Capitol building and disrupted the certification of Electoral College votes from the 2020 presidential election.
The House January 6 committee investigating the events of two years ago recently concluded its work and issued a final 845-page report.
The panel also made criminal referrals to the Department of Justice and recommended that Trump face charges of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to make a false statement and conspiracy to "incite," "assist," or "aid or comfort" an insurrection.
The DOJ will make the ultimate decision on whether to charge the former president.
On Thursday, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz voted for Trump in two ballots and on the 11th ballot of the day, Gaetz formally nominated Trump and then voted for him again.
That nomination was met with an instant response from Democratic Representative Steve Cohen who objected, saying that Trump had "tried to overthrow our government."
Trump ultimately garnered only one vote in the 11th round. McCarthy won 200 votes, Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries won all 212 votes from his party, Republican Representative Byron Donalds received 12 votes, seven Republicans voted for Representative Kevin Hern, one member voted "present" and one did not vote.
The House will meet again on Friday but it remains to be seen if McCarthy can win over his critics and garner enough votes to be elected speaker. He requires a majority of votes cast but members voting "present" or skipping the vote lower the threshold for a majority.
There is still a long way to go to match the situation in 1855, however, when it took 133 ballots before a speaker was elected and the process lasted for two months.
Some of his GOP opponents have called for McCarthy to step aside, including Representative Lauren Boebert, who nominated Hern for the role of speaker on Thursday.
Boebert said that former President Trump "needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw."
The House cannot function fully until a speaker is elected. Members have not yet been sworn in and no vote has been taken on the House rules. If the stalemate continues beyond January 13, it will affect the ability of committees to do their work and the House panels will be unable to process payroll.
Newsweek has asked Kevin McCarthy's office for comment.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more