UPDATE: The weeklong slog to launch a new Congress continued with a 13th ballot, as Kevin McCarthy picked up a vote yet still was short a majority.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) shifted his vote to McCarthy, giving the Republican leader 214 votes in the latest round. That’s still three short of what he needed to win the speakership.
Meanwhile, reports are emerging of the concessions that McCarthy made to win over the holdouts, including requiring just one member to file a motion to remove the speaker. Other concessions, according to Politico, would require a vote on a balanced budget amendment and there would guarantees for giving members of the Freedom Caucus seats on committees.
Hakeem Jeffries gained a vote in the latest round, as Rep. David Trone (D-MD) made it to the floor after having surgery earlier in the morning. He drew loud cheers as he made his way to the aisle to announce his ballot for Jeffries.
The House is adjourning until 10 PM ET/7 PM PT this evening.
PREVIOUSLY: Kevin McCarthy moved closer to winning the House speakership as fourteen GOP holdouts moved his way in the 12th round of voting.
He still appears to have fallen short of a majority, drawing 213 votes, with 211 Democrats going for Hakeem Jeffries and seven holdouts voting for other nominees.
The shifts occurred after an intense round of negotiations, one that already is drawing criticism from Democrats, and some of the GOP members who still oppose him, that he will emerge a weakened leader. One proposal that holdouts have wanted is a provision that would allow any member to put forward a resolution to remove the speaker at any time.
But McCarthy and his allies believe that the voting shifts are a breakthrough that ultimately will put pressure on remaining dissidents.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who had been in the never-Kevin camp, missed the initial roll call. When his name was called again, he walked down the center aisle of the chamber, waved his head and said McCarthy’s name. That drew cheers from his Republican colleagues, as did others who changed their votes. But some said that their switch was still contingent on negotiations continuing in good faith.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who switched his vote to McCarthy in the latest round, told reporters that members have an agreement framework, although he declined to go into details. He said that he believed that McCarthy ultimately would gain a majority.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), who also switched his vote, told reporters that “if the framework blows up, I’m out.”
PREVIOUSLY: The House of Representatives started its fourth day of voting for a speaker, amid an impasse between Kevin McCarthy and dissident conservatives that has stalled congressional business.
Before members embarked on a 12th vote for speaker, there was a ceremony on the steps of the Capitol to mark the second anniversary of the January 6th attack. House Minority Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave brief remarks at the ceremony, followed by family members of those who died as a result of the siege.
In the chamber, House chaplain Margaret G. Kibben devoted her opening prayer to the “memory of inconceivable unrest,” while Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA), while nominating McCarthy, paid tribute to the Capitol Police, drawing a standing ovation in the chamber, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), also commemorated the anniversary in his remarks nominating Jeffries.
It was two years ago that many of the members in the room, along with journalists and staff, were rushed from the chamber after rioters broke through barricades and a group attempted to break through entrances to the House floor.
McCarthy and his allies have been engaged in talks with some of the dissidents, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), but it was unclear whether the apparent progress translate into holdouts switching their votes.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was not swayed. Putting Rep. Jim Jordan’s name forward as a nominee, he suggested that McCarthy’s decision to keep trying for the speakership was an “exercise in vanity.” That comment drew applause from Democrats. He said that McCarthy’s ambition was “paralyzing the House.” He also attacked the negotiations with McCarthy, contending that his concessions would weaken the position to a largely ceremonial role.
Tensions between Republicans are flaring up on the floor. At one point, as Gaetz spoke, Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) stood up and shouted that he was out of order in devoting so much of a nominating speech to blasting McCarthy.