McCarthy Defeated in First, Second, Third Ballots in House Speaker Race

On Tuesday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy suffered historic defeats in the first, second, and third rounds of voting for House speaker.

His nomination by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) was met with a challenge from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), a conservative former leader of the Freedom Caucus.

By the end of the first round of voting, 19 Republicans voted for Biggs or others in protest, causing McCarthy to fall short of the majority needed to win the gavel.

This marks the first time in 100 years that a House speaker nominee has failed to win their party’s vote in the initial round.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was also nominated by his party and became the first Black person to lead a major American political party.

The voting process was tense on the Republican side, while Democrats were joyous as they cast their votes.

Before the voting took place, McCarthy vowed to fight for the position “for as long as it takes” and said, “We may have a battle on the floor, but the battle is for the conference and the country.”

However, he faced strong opposition from conservatives, particularly the Freedom Caucus, who were aligned with former President Trump’s MAGA agenda.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), chairman of the Freedom Caucus and a leader of Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election, stated, “There’s one person who could have changed all this.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) added, “If you want to drain the swamp you can’t put the biggest alligator in control of the exercise.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claimed that McCarthy “eagerly dismissed” the Freedom Caucus’s offer for rules changes during a meeting at the Capitol the night before the vote. She vowed she would not vote for McCarthy.

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