US House without speaker after 11 rounds of voting — longest stalemate since 1859
After three days and 11 rounds of voting, the US house of representatives has been unable to elect its 127th speaker.
Kelvin McCarthy, leader of the Republicans in the House, has failed at every step of the way to secure the absolute majority of votes needed to be elected.
A lawmaker must accrue 218 votes of the 435 members of the US lower chamber to be declared the speaker.
McCarthy’s speakership bid is being blocked by a rebellious group of 20 far-right lawmakers from his party who refused to back him.
In November, the Republicans took control of the US house of representatives by a slender margin of 222 to 212 in the 435-seat chamber — but the Democrats won the senate.
McCarthy failed to secure the speakership after three rounds on Tuesday. Another eight rounds of contested stalemate on Wednesday and Thursday, and McCarthy’s followership wore thin as the contest was prolonged.
He received 201 votes in Thursday’s first two rounds of voting but they dropped to 200 in subsequent votes.
Interestingly, Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and one of McCarthy’s detractors, had voted for former President Donald Trump to be the speaker in one round of voting on Thursday. US law does not require the speaker to be a member of the House.
Speaking on his decision, Gaetz said: “This ends in one of two ways: either Kevin McCarthy withdraws from the race or we construct a straitjacket that he is unwilling to evade.”
However, the Democrats have consistently voted in unison for Hakeem Jeffries, the party leader in the House.
Jeffries is the first black person ever to lead a party in US Congress. It is unlikely that he would win over six defectors from the Republican party to clinch the speakership.
The voting was adjourned for a 12th round on Friday.
The impasse is the longest since 1859 when the US house of representatives failed to pick a speaker after 44 ballots.
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