Another round of failed attempts to select a speaker of the house as voting rolled into the third day with no end in sight.
The division among House Republicans was again on full display as most GOP members continued to back California Conference Leader Kevin McCarthy -- who has lost every vote so far.
The standoff is between McCarthy and 20 conservative colleagues who are withholding the support the California Republican needs. Most of those 20 threw their support behind second-term Tampa-area Congressman Byron Donalds. Although some have begun supporting other candidates, including Florida’s Matt Gaetz, who named Donald John Trump as a candidate.
A lot of people were wondering what Gaets was trying to accomplish by casting his vote in that way. It may be to oppose McCarthy without supporting Donalds.
The group has been demanding House rules changes. Notably, they want just one single member of the chamber to have the power to call for a vote to remove and replace the House speaker.
Some reports indicate McCarthy may have already made that concession, but it wasn’t enough.
News4JAX asked Florida Representative Mike Waltz what could happen if Republicans can’t come together.
“Well, as you’ve seen, both sides are dug in. Right now, what’s been so frustrating is we can’t get a clear ask or series of demands from the 20,” Waltz said. “So at this point, it’s about personal agendas, some personal animosity to certain individuals and that’s a disservice to the people that elected us. They expect us to get to work.”
On the other side is the Democrats keeping things on lockstep, letting the GOP hang out to dry with all 212 members repeatedly backing the Democratic Conference Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who took over Nancy Pelosi’s place.
The stalemate is having an effect on members already as displayed in a recent tweet by Nebraska Representative Don Bacon:
My office was informed by an agency today that they cannot communicate with my staff regarding active casework because we are not yet sworn in! The handful holding up the speaker election is not helping Americans but directly hurting them. @GOPLeader
— Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸 (@RepDonBacon) January 5, 2023
However, McCarthy, or anyone who wants to be speaker, doesn’t have to only receive votes from one party. McCarthy could, in theory, walk over to the other side and cut a deal with some moderate Democrats. However, Given his reputation and record, it’s highly unlikely he could get any Democrats to support him.
It’s important to note that while no speaker of the house has been a non-member, that doesn’t make it illegal. Technically, the speaker of the house can be anyone who can get a majority of the votes of those representatives elect.
That vote needs to happen or Congress can’t function.