Kevin McCarthy's Bid For Speaker Of The House Was A Hot Mess. But After 15 Votes, The California Republican Finally Won The Gavel

Anna Betts
·5 min read
Rep. Kevin McCarthy listens during the 12th round of voting in the House chamber to elect a speaker in Washington on Jan. 6, 2023.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy listens during the 12th round of voting in the House chamber to elect a speaker in Washington on Jan. 6, 2023.

Alex Brandon / AP
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Rep. Kevin McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the House of Representatives in the wee hours of Saturday morning after failing to win a majority in 14 rounds of voting.

For four long, exhausting days, the Republican party struggled to coalesce around a candidate to lead the House after winning a narrow majority in the chamber in the Nov. 8 election. It was the longest bid for speaker in 164 years — and the butt of jokes on social media.

In the final and 15th ballot, McCarthy won 216 votes, while House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries received 212 votes from his fellow Democrats. Six Republicans voted present, lowering the threshold McCarthy needed to win a majority.

The stalemate kept the representatives from being formally sworn in and prevented the House from getting started on any legislative work.

Though McCarthy started out Friday with two more losses in the 12th and 13th vote tallies, the California Republican made significant progress and flipped more than a dozen holdouts in his favor. The House then voted to adjourn until 10 p.m. ET before returning to vote yet again.

McCarthy and his allies appeared confident that they finally had the votes going into the 14th count, but they ultimately fell short by one vote in a stunning defeat. The late-night drama sparked an ugly confrontation on the House floor with Rep. Mike Rogers having to be physically restrained while getting into a verbal altercation with Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose decision to vote present instead of for McCarthy cost the would-be speaker a victory on the 14th ballot.

Rep. Richard Hudson, left, pulls Rep. Mike Rogers back as they talk with Rep. Matt Gaetz following the 14th round of voting for House speaker on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.

Rep. Richard Hudson, left, pulls Rep. Mike Rogers back as they talk with Rep. Matt Gaetz following the 14th round of voting for House speaker on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.

Andrew Harnik / AP

The members then opted to try one last time after apparently reaching a last-minute deal as they were voting on a motion to adjourn. This time, the votes were finally there.

The drawn-out opposition to McCarthy came from a small group of Republicans who seemingly don't trust him and demanded concessions, such as less government spending and specific policy changes, like allowing a single lawmaker to force a snap vote at any time to oust the speaker.

Many of the Republicans who voted against McCarthy are part of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus and were endorsed by former president Donald Trump. Most of them denied the outcome of the 2020 election.

On Tuesday night, after the first day of voting, Sean Hannity of Fox News said on air that House Republicans "are now on the verge of becoming a total clown show if they're not careful."

House Democrats, on the other hand, consistently united behind Jeffries, who was the top vote-getter until McCarthy and his allies managed to convince their colleagues to fall in line.

“This is a disaster for the Republicans,” Fox News host Steve Doocy said Wednesday on Fox & Friends.

Here were some of the best online reactions to this very chaotic start to 2023 as the mess unfolded.

Stephanie K. Baer contributed reporting.

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