McCarthy is now on track to lose an 11th round of voting.
It’s unclear if there is enough consensus to adjourn for today. Tomorrow, some members of Congress may not be present for votes due to various professional, health and family obligations – and that could complicate McCarthy’s path to a victory.
Democratic congressman Jimmy Gomez of California had brought his four-month-old son, Hodge, to the chamber this week. His family, like the families of many representatives, had come to Washington DC to see him get sworn in. That still hasn’t happened because the House still doesn’t have a speaker. “Life goes on, people can’t just wait around for the GOP to get their act together,” he said.
9th Speaker Vote Fail. Between the 7th & 8th my wife left to the airport, my family went back home, and Hodge & I are just gonna figure this out like the rest of the working parents in America. Life goes on, people can’t just wait around for the @GOP to get their act together. pic.twitter.com/kDzAh40CCs
After more than eight hours and five votes today, would-be speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his 11th speakership ballot. This is the most drawn-out speakership vote since 1859.
Here’s where things stand:
McCarthy, despite ongoing negotiations, kept coming up with two few votes to win the speakership. A group of far-right holdouts have remained committed to opposing McCarthy and it is unclear that he will be able to appease them without alienating more moderate Republicans. McCarthy cannot afford to lose more than four votes.
Joe Biden, accompanied by vice-president Kamala Harris, announced new policies governing migration at the US-Mexico border. He said his administration will deny the chance to apply for asylum to anyone from who crosses the Mexican border without authorization.
Democratic senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan announced on Thursday morning hat she will not be seeking re-election and will be retiring once her fourth term ends in 2025.
The House will adjourn until noon, on the two-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
After 11 rounds of voting, there is still no speaker and the chamber is unable to conduct business until it elects on.
Here’s the tally:
Kevin McCarthy – 200
Hakeem Jeffries – 212
Byron Donalds – 12
Kevin Hern – 7
Donald Trump – 1
Present – 1
Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio told reporters that things are moving, as he dipped out to a negotiation room for McCarthy.
Again, the House cannot conduct any business without a speaker. Right now, it’s unclear whether there are even enough votes to adjourn for the day as McCarthy remains stuck in this Sisyphean process.
Democratic Daniel Goldman of New York tweeted: “We are prepared to stay on the House floor as long as it takes to determine a speaker so that we can begin to work for the American people.”
McCarthy is now on track to lose an 11th round of voting.
It’s unclear if there is enough consensus to adjourn for today. Tomorrow, some members of Congress may not be present for votes due to various professional, health and family obligations – and that could complicate McCarthy’s path to a victory.
Democratic congressman Jimmy Gomez of California had brought his four-month-old son, Hodge, to the chamber this week. His family, like the families of many representatives, had come to Washington DC to see him get sworn in. That still hasn’t happened because the House still doesn’t have a speaker. “Life goes on, people can’t just wait around for the GOP to get their act together,” he said.
9th Speaker Vote Fail. Between the 7th & 8th my wife left to the airport, my family went back home, and Hodge & I are just gonna figure this out like the rest of the working parents in America. Life goes on, people can’t just wait around for the @GOP to get their act together. pic.twitter.com/kDzAh40CCs
An 11th round of voting is now underway.
It’s unclear that this will be the one, but again small signs of progress are emerging, according to reporters on scene.
Per CNN’s Manu Raju:
McCarthy and Emmer behind closed doors with Roy, Donalds and some other members. Lawmakers saying a deal is within reach either tonight or tomorrow. “Lots of talks going on,” Emmer said. It won’t get McCarthy to 218 but could get him closer
The latest vote count:
Hakeem Jeffries – 212
Kevin McCarthy – 200
Byron Donalds – 13
Kevin Hern – 7
Present – 1
Again, this is the most protracted speakership vote since 1859.
Ahead of this vote, far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told CNN she was seeing signs of progress.
Another sign, per Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman:
🚨 NEW: Sources tell us a deal between MCCARTHY and his opponents is close.
CHIP ROY and PATRICK MCHENRY have been negotiating it
All the big players are now in TOM EMMER's 1st floor office.
RALPH NORMAN says he expects an offer in writing tonight
w @bresreports/@heatherscope
Congress is now proceeding to a 10th round of voting…
This is now the most drawn out speaker election since 1859. Juan Ciscomani, a freshman Republican from Arizona, nominated McCarthy for a 10th vote.
Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska condemned the members of his party holding out against Kevin McCarthy, saying that the chaotic scene in Congress might prompt totalitarians to say, “This is why we don’t want democracy.”
Here’s him on CNN:
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) slams the Republicans who oppose Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker:
“I think there’s totalitarian states out there, look at those 20 and say, ‘This is why we don’t want democracy.’” pic.twitter.com/B6CuaOGYvo
The vote tally in the ninth round:
Hakeem Jeffries – 212
Kevin McCarthy – 201
Byron Donalds – 17
Kevin Hern – 3
Present – 1
McCarthy is on track to lose in the ninth round of voting, surpassing the previous record set in 1923, when Frederick Huntington Gillett won the position after nine rounds of voting.
The longest speaker’s race prior to that was in 1859, when it took 44 rounds of voting. And before that, in 1855, it took 133 ballots to decide the speaker’s race.
Joe Biden said today the US would immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally, his boldest move yet to confront the arrivals of migrants that have increased since he took office two years ago, the Associated Press reports.
The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the U.S., which began in October and led to a dramatic drop in Venezuelans coming to the southern border. Together, they represent a major change to immigration rules that will stand even if the Supreme Court ends a Trump-era public health law that allows U.S. authorities to turn away asylum-seekers.
Do not, do not just show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally from there,” Biden said as he announced the changes, even as he acknowledged the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north.
Biden made the announcement just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas,on Sunday for his first trip to the southern border as president. From there, he will travel on to Mexico City to meet with North American leaders on Monday and Tuesday.
Homeland Security officials said they would begin denying asylum to those who circumvent legal pathways and do not first ask for asylum in the country they traveled through en route to the U.S.
Instead, the U.S. will accept 30,000 people per month from the four nations for two years and offer the ability to work legally, as long as they come legally, have eligible sponsors and pass vetting and background checks. Border crossings by migrants from those four nations have risen most sharply, with no easy way to quickly return them to their home countries.
This new process is orderly. It’s safe and humane, and it works,” Biden said.
The move, while not unexpected, drew swift criticism from asylum and immigration advocates, who have had a rocky relationship with the president.
President Biden correctly recognized today that seeking asylum is a legal right and spoke sympathetically about people fleeing persecution.
But the plan he announced further ties his administration to the poisonous anti-immigrant policies of the Trump era instead of restoring fair access to asylum protections,” said Jonathan Blazer, the American Civil Liberties Union’s director of border strategies.
The House is now in its 9th round of voting, with Lauren Boebert again delivering remarks about Kevin Hern shortly before the roll call.
“We need to get to a point where we start evaluating what life after Kevin McCarthy looks like,” she said, claiming that “threats were made” behind closed doors regarding committee assignments for those who plan to not vote for Kevin McCarthy.
“But we don’t govern in fear, we govern for the people on principle, don’t be afraid to do the right thing,” she added.
As she nominates Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) for House Speaker, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claims those who don't vote for Kevin McCarthy were threatened with not getting committee assignments. pic.twitter.com/aLW0FygYmb
During the eighth round of voting, hardline Republican representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado voted for Kevin…Hern as speaker of the House.
Speaking about the Republican representative from Oklahoma, Boebert said that Kevin Hern is a “businessman from humble beginnings” and a “true consensus candidate.”
As Boebert spoke, murmurs across the House soon echoed into loud side conversations as those around Boebert looked around in stunned confusion.
Whoa, I missed this originally:
Lauren Boebert trolls Kevin McCarthy and her fellow Republican caucus members by feinting as though she’s going to vote for McCarthy and instead voting for Kevin Hern.pic.twitter.com/wathK9rU8q
Kevin McCarthy’s epic humiliation in the House of Representatives continues as he fails to be elected to become speaker in the eighth round of voting.
The California Republican is being blocked by a phalanx of far-right rebels and, if anything, his votes are declining, not growing. On Tuesday, when the 118th Congress convened and voting for the speakership began, McCarthy garnered 203 votes in the first round – a massive 15 short of the simple majority needed.
In this once-in-a-century eighth round of voting, he managed 201 votes, with 21 Republicans refusing to vote for him, either spoiling their votes, essentially, or placing them for strategic-disrupter nominee Byron Donalds.
As we’ve been expecting for several hours, it looks very unlikely that we’ll see a speaker elected today. The House business now paused between votes (but is not in recess).
As the latest round of voting for Speaker of the House is under way, all the signs are it will be another long day on Capitol Hill.
Here’s where things stand:
California Republican Kevin McCarthy, the frontrunner for speaker, moments ago lost his seventh round of voting for the position, putting himself and the GOP in the House in deep trouble.
Joe Biden, accompanied by vice-president Kamala Harris, announced new security measures at the US-Mexico border and, in remarks at the White House, once again admitted that the US immigration system is a mess.
In Senate news, Democratic senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan announced on Thursday morning that she will not be seeking re-election and will retire once her fourth term ends in 2025.
North Carolina’s Republican representative Dan Bishop nominated Byron Donalds, a Florida lawmaker backed by hard-right Republican representatives as an alternative to Kevin McCarthy.