‘One more time’: House to keep voting after speaker fight descends into chaos on 14th ballot
Virginia Aabram
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The House will keep voting despite nearly adjourning after Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) fell one vote short of the speakership on the 14th ballot.
Of the six still refusing to back McCarthy on Friday, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) changed their votes to “present,” while the four others kept their votes for members other than McCarthy. A tense situation played out when Gaetz cast the vote that determined McCarthy didn’t have the support to win.
All Democrats voted against adjourning, hoping to get the issue of speaker resolved Friday night or early Saturday morning, and at the last minute, McCarthy and several other Republicans also voted “no,” seeming to have struck yet another deal with a detractor.
A chorus of “one more time” broke out in the House chamber after the motion to adjourn failed.
The failure came as a surprise after McCarthy went into the 14th ballot optimistic it would end with him as speaker. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Bob Good (R-VA), and Eli Crane (R-AZ) opposed McCarthy outright, with two voting for Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and two voting for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
Members had to physically restrain Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) from approaching Gaetz as the Floridian argued vehemently with McCarthy.
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McCarthy is on the verge of clinching the speakership, needing only one more person to vote for him or “present” to win.