US House Speaker Election: Deadlock Continues As Kevin McCarthy's 11th Bid To Gain Support Fails

The impasse over the selection of a House speaker continued for the third day as Republican party leader Kevin McCarthy could not secure speakership for the 11th time after eight hours of voting

Republican party leader Kevin McCarthy

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The impasse over the selection of a House speaker continued for the third day as Republican party leader Kevin McCarthy failed to secure the Speaker's gavel for the 11th time after eight hours of voting.

With this, the 118th Congress made history again as the protracted stalemate marks the first time since 1859 that the House has required more than nine ballots to select a new speaker.

McCarthy ended up losing seventh, eighth, and then historic ninth, 10th, and 11th rounds of voting, breaching the number of 100 years ago in the last drawn-out fight to choose a speaker, reported the Guardian.

Republicans voted to adjourn and resume voting on Friday amid protests from Democrats. The House ended over a deadlock on Wednesday following three inconclusive votes held a day earlier to elect a speaker. Instead of voting a fourth time, members moved to adjourn until the evening on Wednesday offering McCarthy’s team more time to negotiate with his Republican detractors.

This is the first time in a century that the House has not chosen a speaker on the first ballot.

As the voting during the night closed on the second anniversary of the 6 January, 2021 Capitol riot, Democrats said it was time to get serious, according to the AP report.

“This sacred House of Representatives needs a leader,” said Democrat Joe Neguse of Colorado, nominating his own party’s leader, Hakeem Jeffries, as speaker.

Ballots continued to yield almost the same outcome as 20 conservative holdouts have still not offered their support to McCarthy leaving him far short of the 218 typically needed to win the gavel.

The chaos to the new Congress hinted at the tough times ahead with Republicans now in control of the House much similar to the past Republican speakers, including John Boehner, who had trouble leading a rebellious right flank that led to the government shutdowns, standoffs and Boehner’s early retirement.

The longest fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged on for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.