Has anyone else watched any of the voting for House Speaker today? McCarthy was so confident that he would win the Speaker's gavel that he had his staff move all of his stuff into the Speaker's suite yesterday afternoon - and today, he has been rejected three times. This hasn't happened in 100 years. Not only that, but Hakeem Jeffries, the Dem party leader, got more votes than McCarthy did on all three ballots although that wasn't enough to win either.
Why is this important? Because NOTHING can happen in a new Congress until a Speaker is elected. Representatives cannot be sworn in, committees cannot be set up, legislation can't happen, nothing moves at all until there's a Speaker. I suppose McCarthy will try again later tonight or tomorrow, but on the third ballot he lost an additional vote when someone switched their vote to "Gym" Jordan, who may now be angling for the Speaker's slot..
As much as I would enjoy watching video of McCarthy's staff moving his stuff back out of the Speaker's suite, this is not a good start to the 118th Congress. The Republicans are fractured to the point that they cannot agree on who will lead them over the next two years. They have a thin majority, with only five votes to spare. Unless they can get their acts together, NOTHING will get done in the next two years without bipartisan support.
McCarthy said he doesn't care if he sets a new record for Speaker votes - he lusts for that gavel, and reportedly told his Conference angrily today that he's earned it. The record was set in 1855-56, with 133 ballots over two months, and was only settled when both sides agreed to go with a plurality rather than a majority - and even then it was won by only three votes.You do you, Kevin... let's just shut it all down for a month or two until you can finally get your toy. Who cares about governing when there are more important things to deal with?
Elect a bunch of clowns, expect a circus.
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