WASHINGTON: The US House speaker fight has completed an 11th vote — the most since before the Civil War — and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy still hasn’t secured enough backers.
The chamber, which will reconvene on Friday, has been paralyzed for three straight days, and there’s no resolution in sight. The California Republican is being opposed by 20 GOP critics, even after former President Donald Trump urged holdouts to “VOTE FOR KEVIN.” McCarthy lost the support of Indiana’s Victoria Spartz, who answered “present” in the last three rounds of voting, and some of his allies are talking about whether he should step aside for someone else.
In the meantime, Congress can’t conduct any business without a speaker, and tension is growing on both sides of the aisle. One floated a potential deal that would trade Democratic votes to elect McCarthy, a move that would likely cost him more support among Republicans.
These are the conservatives who voted for another candidate during the ninth roll call vote on Thursday:
Andy Biggs, Arizona
Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Lauren Boebert, Colorado
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma
Michael Cloud, Texas
Andrew Clyde, Georgia
Eli Crane, Arizona
Byron Donalds, Florida
Matt Gaetz, Florida
Bob Good, Virginia
Paul Gosar, Arizona
Andy Harris, Maryland
Anna Paulina Luna, Florida
Mary Miller, Illinois
Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Andy Ogles, Tennessee
Scott Perry, Pennsylvania
Matt Rosendale, Montana
Chip Roy, Texas
Keith Self, Texas
One Republican answered “present” rather than casting a vote during the roll call:
Victoria Spartz, Indiana
