On the fourth day of voting to decide the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, momentum finally shifted. Coinciding with the second anniversary of the Capitol attack, Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, secured the party’s majority backing to pursue the speakership after facing persistent opposition from 20 far-right representatives in the previous rounds. Through negotiations and concessions, he won the backing of 13 of those rebellious lawmakers on the twelfth ballot, and he even regained the support of a representative who had voted present in earlier rounds.
Although McCarthy still did not achieve a formal quorum to officially assume the office, with the math remaining unsettled, opposition from seven of his colleagues continued to cloud the path. Yet these moves created more space for his candidacy. For the first time, he received more votes than Democratic candidate Hakeem Jeffries, and the pressure for him to withdraw the race or for an alternative candidate to be sought diminished notably.
Following days of intense discussion and late-hour deliberations, McCarthy pushed forward and appeared more secure in the vote as the week drew to a close. He remarked that some lawmakers who had opposed him previously would now vote for him, signaling a potential shift in support that could stabilize the process. [AP]
Important factions
While every ballot carries weight, certain votes stand out for their strategic impact. One example is Scott Perry, the chair of the Freedom Caucus, an ultra-conservative wing of the House that supplied many of the rebels. In a single tweet, he expressed reassurance about his own position, highlighting a turning point in the process. [CNN]
Another notable development involved Ralph Norman, a representative who was initially part of the so-called anti-McCarthy bloc, and Paul Gosar, one of the more outspoken conservatives, who had voiced strong opposition to McCarthy but later signaled a potential shift. These alignments illustrate how intra-party dynamics shaped the course of the vote and the potential for cross-path support. [NBC]
Unfinalized terms
McCarthy acknowledged that there remained no firm agreement with the most conservative members. Several concessions that had been rumored, such as limiting the number of members who can initiate the Speaker selection process to a single participant, had circulated, but many of these terms had not yet been formally confirmed. Perry, as president of the Freedom Caucus, described there being an “agreement framework,” underscoring the delicate balance required to secure stable support. [Reuters]