Some of GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s opponents began switching their votes in the ongoing speaker’s election Thursday, but those votes weren’t for him.
The House adjourned Thursday evening until noon Friday after five more rounds of balloting — 11 since Tuesday — left McCarthy still far short of the votes needed to take the gavel. McCarthy has yet to win over 20 Republicans voting for someone other than him.
McCarthy’s speaker quest hit a new historic mark Thursday when the ballots crossed into double digits. The last time a speaker race took more than nine ballots to resolve was in the 1850s, before the Civil War, “when party divisions were more nebulous,” according to the House historian.
