In the first ballot, 19 party colleagues rebelled against McCarthy, refused to support him and voted for other candidates. In the second verbal vote, 19 colleagues did not vote for the 57-year-old. Instead, the votes all went to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan. He had previously nominated McCarthy for the second ballot and persuaded his party colleagues to close the ranks. Immediately afterwards, however, one of McCarthy’s toughest opponents, MP Matt Gaetz, struck out – and nominated Jordan. Jordan is a loyal supporter of ex-President Donald Trump.
In the afternoon (local time) it remained unclear how many votes would still be necessary to elect a new chair for the parliamentary chamber. In the simplest scenario, the chairperson election requires a majority of 218 votes – if all 434 newly elected parliamentarians are present and vote for one candidate. If some of them abstain, the required majority is smaller.
The choice of speaker is actually considered a formality. It has been 100 years since a candidate for the House of Representatives vote did not win the necessary majority on the first ballot: in 1923 it took nine ballots to choose a leader. At that time it took several days. The election of the speaker is also important because the House of Representatives can only start work once the speaker has been appointed. It is also the speaker who swears in the deputies.
Thomas Langpaul (ORF) on the speaker choice
ORF correspondent Thomas Langpaul on the background to the Republican election debacle in the election for speaker of the US House of Representatives.
McCarthy struck out against opponents within the party
Before the votes, McCarthy said his opponents were only concerned with personal advancement, not with the country. He revealed that on Monday he was told he would only get the necessary votes if he provided certain members of the group with certain offices and budgets. One of his opponents, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, even said bluntly that he didn’t care if the Democratic candidate won in case of doubt, McCarthy said.
“I will always fight to put the American people first – not a few individuals trying to get their own way.” There may be a “battle” in the plenary chamber, but this is about them entire group and the country, “and that’s okay with me,” said the 57-year-old on Tuesday before the start of the meeting. “I hold the record for the longest plenary speech,” McCarthy said. He has no problem setting a record for the most ballots in a vote for the presidency of the House of Representatives.
Red disappointment at Midterms
As a reminder: The “red wave” hoped for by the Republicans did not materialize at the midterms in November. The Conservatives were only just able to take control of the House of Representatives. In the Senate, on the other hand, the Democrats retained a wafer-thin majority.
For the Republican parliamentary group leader McCarthy, it quickly became clear that the narrow majority in the House of Representatives would be an obstacle to his quest for the third highest office in the USA – after that of President and Vice President. Parts of the ultra-right wing of the party have made it clear in recent weeks that they do not want to support McCarthy in the speaker election. Instead, they voted for the ultra-right Andy Biggs.
Republicans heavily divided
The Republican faction in the House of Representatives, like the party as a whole, is torn between right-wing supporters of ex-President Donald Trump and more moderate party members. Faced with a slim majority, McCarthy had to unite the various wings behind him and even recruit members from the very fringes of his faction. Five Republicans publicly announced early on that they would refuse to vote for McCarthy. Then they registered further resistance.
In recent weeks, McCarthy has tried to appease internal critics with all sorts of concessions. Most recently, he even agreed to significantly lower the hurdles for a possible dismissal of the chairman of the House of Representatives, as reported by several US media, citing internal discussions in the parliamentary group. That could be used as a constant means of pressure against him – but even with this concession, McCarthy’s majority was not secured until the end.
One of McCarthy’s opponents, Republican Congressman and chair of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, Scott Perry, wrote on Twitter Tuesday that McCarthy had rejected many of his group’s demands during the talks. McCarthy had the chance to become chairman. “He rejected her.”
Changed majorities in Congress
In the congressional elections in early November, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate were up for grabs. Both chambers met in separate sessions this Tuesday, for the first time with new members. In the House of Representatives, the Republicans only achieved a narrow majority of 222 seats. The Democrats have 212 seats. One seat is still open as one MP died shortly after the election.
With the changed majority and their new strength in the House of Representatives, the Republicans can make life difficult for Biden in the future. They have already announced parliamentary inquiries into the President and other members of the government, and they can block legislation at will.
