This did not help – because again 20 Republicans voted against him: 19 for the opponent Byron Donalds, one even for Donald Trump. With 201 votes, McCarthy clearly missed the required majority of 218. Democratic candidate Hakeem Jeffries got even more with 212. Whether there will be a different result in the eighth ballot, which has now begun, is completely open.
The 57-year-old McCarthy is said to have even agreed to further lower the hurdles for the dismissal of a chairman in the House of Representatives. He offers his opponents a means of pressure to chase him out of office at will.
That could have dire consequences and create even more instability when important decisions are made in Congress. The right-wing MPs could hold the Chamber hostage. McCarthy had already made much concessions to the renegades on this point – but without success. He is now showing a new level of “despair,” judged the broadcaster CNN.
McCarthy had previously failed six ballots. For two days he failed to obtain the required majority for the election of the head of the parliamentary chamber and was embarrassed. Negotiations continue behind the scenes during the votes. The “New York Times” is surprised that McCarthy, who is aiming for the leading role in the Chamber of Deputies, has not yet given a speech in the plenary session himself in these three days, but always lets others advertise for him.
Alliance with democrats against own radicals?
If McCarthy cannot come to terms with opponents in his party, he may attempt to negotiate with the Democrats. They could help him win the elections by abstaining in their ranks, for example, because that would reduce the number of votes needed. It would also be possible for a new candidate to be put forward that the Republicans could agree on. But talks with the Democrats about a consensus candidate that they would support would also be conceivable.
The fact that the Democrats currently seem to be very happy to see McCarthy fail was shown on Wednesday evening (local time). After a break, MPs met again.
McCarthy had previously said another vote that evening would not succeed – so one of his confidants asked for the meeting to be adjourned. However, the Democrats opposed the project. Only at the last moment was the motion passed by a razor-thin Republican majority. By requesting a roll-call vote on the adjournment motion, the Democrats retaliated for the Republicans’ similar approach to many legislative decisions over the past two years.
Large dependency due to narrow majority
Several Republicans had already refused to support their party colleague McCarthy on Tuesday and Wednesday and voted for other candidates in the election for the presidency. 20 Republicans rallied behind opposition candidate Donalds in Wednesday’s elections. McCarthy’s opponents had nominated the Republican. With Republicans holding a narrow majority in the House of Commons, McCarthy needs almost every vote in his party to be elected leader.
Even an appeal by ex-President Trump did not change the situation. He had previously supported McCarthy – but gave him backing after the voting debacle. But the ardent Trump fans continued to block McCarthy. The party responded with a “shrug,” wrote the Washington Post.
For McCarthy, the series of defeats is a historic defeat and a public embarrassment. It is the first time in a hundred years that the election has required more than one attempt and that a parliamentary group has not elected its candidate to office in the first round. The power struggle also shows the inner turmoil of Republicans. They had regained a majority in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections in November and actually wanted to drive President Joe Biden in front of them. Now many are wondering whether the dysfunctional party is even capable of handling the important tasks in the parliamentary chamber.
