January 7, 2023 updates on Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Table Of Content

• Tom Emmer won nomination only to drop out after opposition by Trump and far right
• House majority leader
• Latest round of candidates
• Many O.C. residents deny Trump election results, potentially swaying key races, poll finds
• Rep. Mike Johnson voted new House speaker
• All ballots: votes not cast for party nominee
• McCarthy, All Carrots and No Sticks, Grinned His Way to the Speakership

The House is expected to vote on a resolution in support of Israel on Wednesday afternoon, according to a notice from the House Democratic whip. House Speaker Mike Johnson entered the speaker's office for the first time after being sworn in, with his new name plate hanging above the door. The members who ousted McCarthy also told reporters that they have no regrets now about ousting McCarthy.

Tom Emmer won nomination only to drop out after opposition by Trump and far right

Mr. Johnson won after multiple rounds of ballots, beating out Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, a member of the Freedom Caucus. Only hours later, Mr. Emmer told Republicans in a closed-door meeting that he was dropping his bid, according to a person familiar with his decision who divulged the private discussion on the condition of anonymity. Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 House Republican and the first to be nominated for speaker following Mr. McCarthy’s ouster, was ultimately seen as insufficiently pro-Trump by too many of his colleagues. In the years before he arrived in Congress in 2017, Mr. Johnson worked as an attorney and spokesman for the anti-abortion-rights and anti-gay group Alliance Defense Fund — now called the Alliance Defending Freedom. During that time, he expressed some of his hard-line views in editorials in the local newspaper in his hometown of Shreveport, La.

House majority leader

But the unity was in part a product of burnout among House Republicans, who in spite of their differences grew eager to put an end to the weekslong spectacle of mass dysfunction and paralysis that many said had left their constituents distraught. Jeffries now leads the minority party in the House, succeeding California's Nancy Pelosi, who served as speaker in the prior session of Congress when Democrats held the majority. In addition to being the first Black lawmaker to attain such a position, Jeffries is also the first person elected to lead House Democrats to be born after the end of World War II.

House remains paralyzed with no end in sight for speakership battle after Jordan’s exit - CNN

House remains paralyzed with no end in sight for speakership battle after Jordan’s exit.

Posted: Sat, 21 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Latest round of candidates

He secured the support of most of the conference during a closed-door leadership vote shortly after and overcame a challenge from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.). Most recently, Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the No. 3 House Republican, withdrew his bid for the speakership just hours after winning a closed-door vote. A week prior, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio failed to win the speakership after three floor votes, facing increasing opposition from his own party in each vote. Before him, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana withdrew his bid after winning a closed-door vote to become the nominee. But by late Tuesday night, Mr. Johnson appeared to have put together a coalition that brought him closer to capturing the speakership than any candidate has been since hard-right rebels deposed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago. Though it was not certain he had the votes to be elected, he said he planned to call for a floor vote on Wednesday at noon.

After winning the majority, Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas telling him and other department officials to be prepared to testify. The White House said the investigations are politically motivated and a waste of time. There will also be some must-pass policy issues -- like funding the government -- that will test the ability of Republicans and Democrats to work together. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with CNN ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy outlined his plans for power.

Democrats will nominate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and they are being urged to vote for him, according to a notice from Democratic whip Katherine Clark's office. Rep. Pete Aguilar , the Democratic caucus chair, will deliver the nominating speech for Jeffries. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republican conference, will deliver the speech nominating Johnson for speaker, according to a Republican aide. But last month, he voted for a Rep. Matt Gaetz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have cut off all security assistance for Ukraine. That amendment failed, , with a majority of Republicans voting against the amendment.

All ballots: votes not cast for party nominee

He also said “that’s the hope” when asked if anyone can get the 217 votes required to win the gavel — a number Speaker Designate Steve Scalise is still far from hitting. House Republicans are still far from electing a new House Speaker after their closed-door voting session Wednesday resulted in Rep. Steve Scalise as their speaker-designate. Hakeem Jeffries of New York was unanimously nominated by the House Democratic Caucus on October 10. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana was initially nominated by the House Republican Conference on October 11, but he withdrew from the race the next day. Jim Jordan of Ohio was nominated on a second internal Republican conference vote on October 13.

McCarthy, All Carrots and No Sticks, Grinned His Way to the Speakership

Although Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was not in the running, he received more votes than Donalds in the final round. Trump seemed to acknowledge his role in killing Emmer's quest for the gavel, as he shared on his social media platform an article from Politico about how the former president "torpedoed" the bid. Emmer began to lose support from conservative lawmakers shortly after Trump's missive, and he bowed out of the contest shortly after. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had asked the Supreme Court to block "the use of unlawful election results without review and ratification by" the four state legislatures and allow them to appoint a different slate of presidential electors. If all 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats mark themselves present, Johnson will need 217 votes to win the gavel. Two seats are vacant due to the resignations of Reps. Chris Stewart, a Republican from Utah, and David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island.

Kevin McCarthy ousted as House Speaker in historic vote - Reuters

Kevin McCarthy ousted as House Speaker in historic vote.

Posted: Wed, 04 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

One official briefed on that emerging compromise said if a lawmaker took issue with a certain earmark, they could force such a vote. Proponents of earmarks argue that they allow rank-and-file lawmakers to deliver for their constituents and smooth the process of keeping the government running, by giving members of Congress a tangible reason to vote in favor of spending bills. But Mr. McCarthy’s detractors, hard-line Republicans who have railed against federal spending, have demanded a commitment to crack down on the practice as a prerequisite for supporting him. The year was 1923, the last time the House required multiple days and repeated votes to settle on a new speaker before this week’s continuing stalemate over the candidacy of Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California. Upon hearing that a speaker had not been elected, shouts of disappointment filled the air.

Clark is only the second woman after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve in one of the top two party leadership positions in Congress. Talking with reporters, he gamely brushed off the notion that his historic and humiliating slog to election — the most protracted such contest since 1859 — foretold any troubles ahead for him in governing with an unruly and narrow majority. “I think it’s great that Matt Gaetz has a group up there that’s bringing attention to what’s wrong,” said William Paulovitz, 78, referring to the firebrand Florida Republican who has been one of the far-right rebels blocking Mr. McCarthy’s bid for speaker. Mr. Paulovitz, a retired businessman, dismissed his representative’s run for speaker in a place that representative knows all too well — outside Luigi’s, a popular lunch eatery that has long been a piece of Mr. McCarthy’s self-spun Bakersfield lore. Reading clerks, who are often described as the “voice of the House,” are responsible for reading bills, resolutions, motions and more on the House floor, and for reporting the chamber’s legislative actions to the Senate. Two Republicans who were absent for personal reasons from votes earlier in the day, Ken Buck of Colorado and Wesley Hunt of Texas, were expected to be back in time for the vote.

The relationship fissured after Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters attacked the Capitol stoked by lies of a stolen election, and Mr. McCarthy delivered a speech on the House floor condemning Mr. Trump’s role. Representative Chip Roy of Texas started out as an enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Trump’s claims of a stolen election but gradually grew alarmed about the push to invalidate the results and ultimately opposed Mr. Trump’s bid to get Congress to overturn them on Jan. 6, 2021. WASHINGTON — They helped lead the efforts to keep former President Donald J. Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. They spread lies that helped ignite a mob of Trump supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.