WASHINGTON — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California lost his 14th ballot for speaker Friday evening in the most dramatic fashion possible, falling a single vote shy of the outright majority he needed.
After Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida voted "present," McCarthy tallied 216 of 432 votes. Gaetz, who missed his name when it was first called, became the decisive vote to determine whether McCarthy would become speaker or continue his historic losing streak.
McCarthy and other Republicans approached Gaetz after his vote, seemingly pleading with him to change it and end the longest speakership fight since the Civil War. But Gaetz remained unmoved.
The loss was yet another stunning setback for a leader who had previously expressed confidence that he would prevail on the 14th ballot. As members were approving a Friday afternoon motion to adjourn until 10 p.m., McCarthy told CNN's Manu Raju that he had counted, and knew he had the votes to win on the next ballot.
The result calls into question whether McCarthy will ever win over enough of his far-right antagonists to secure the gavel he's long sought.
McCarthy had flipped 15 votes his way on Friday — nearly enough to clinch the speaker's gavel on the 13th ballot.
The pause in the action allowed a pair of McCarthy supporters who missed the 12th and 13th votes — Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Wesley Hunt, R-Texas — to return to the Capitol, increasing McCarthy's vote total from 214 to 216.
The House has 435 seats, with one currently vacant. If every member votes, McCarthy must win 218 votes to secure a majority and the speakership. Friday's break gave McCarthy and his allies more time to flip two of the remaining six Republican holdouts and hit that magic number.
McCarthy did not convince any of the remaining six holdouts to vote for him. Gaetz and Boebert voting present lowered the threshold McCarthy needed to reach to 217 votes. But the other four holdouts held firm, leaving McCarthy with 216 votes — exactly one short.
McCarthy's vote total had fallen as low as 200 on Thursday. As Republicans began to move in his direction Friday afternoon, each flip was met with raucous applause from the GOP side of the aisle.
Many members who switched their vote to McCarthy on Friday said that their decisions were contingent upon a deal to reform House rules. The deal is expected to empower a far-right faction of House Republicans by granting them seats on the all-important Rules Committee and other concessions.
"Pending transformational rules changes to empower the rank and file: McCarthy," Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., said during his first vote for the GOP leader.
On the two-year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, the GOP-controlled House remained far from under control.
Only four other Congresses have required more roll call votes for speaker before a winner emerged. And four days after the 118th Congress convened Tuesday, the House has neither a speaker nor any sworn-in members.
There are no committee chairs to launch investigations or hold hearings. No rules can be adopted and no legislation can pass. Would-be members have lost access to national security intelligence, and an increasing number of them have begun publicly complaining about their offices' inability to help constituents with issues.
But for the first time all week, Republicans made significant progress toward settling their differences. It remains unclear, though, whether any of the six remaining holdouts will risk putting McCarthy over the top. Five conservative Republicans have positioned themselves for months as a hard "no." Some in the group sent fundraising emails this week highlighting their opposition to McCarthy.
Until Friday, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York had led every ballot with 212 votes, a show of unity among House Democrats. On the 12th ballot, McCarthy finally surpassed Jeffries, notching 213 to Jeffries' 211.
McCarthy maintained a lead on the 13th ballot. But until he — or another Republican — can clinch a clear majority, the House will remain in a state of paralysis, continuing its historic streak of votes for speaker.
"You only earn the position of speaker of the House if you can get the votes," Gaetz said on the floor. "Mr. McCarthy doesn't have the votes today. He will not have the votes tomorrow, and he will not have them next week, next month, next year. And so one must wonder, madam clerk, is this an exercise in vanity for someone who has done the math, taken the counts and is putting this institution through something that absolutely is avoidable?"
Democrats applauded some of Gaetz's remarks, but many Republicans began to file out of the chamber in what appeared to be a clear rejection of his rhetoric.
Besides Brecheen, Republicans who had switched their votes to McCarthy as of Friday afternoon were Dan Bishop of North Carolina; Michael Cloud, Chip Roy and Keith Self of Texas; Andrew Clyde of Georgia; Byron Donalds and Anna Paulina Luna, Florida; Mary Miller, Illinois; Ralph Norman, South Carolina; Scott Perry, Pennsylvania; Victoria Spartz, Indiana; Paul Gosar, Arizona; Andy Ogles, Tennessee; and Andy Harris, Maryland.
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