‘Most humiliating day in Kevin McCarthy’s political career.’ He fails three speaker votes | Opinion
Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield intended Tuesday to be his version of coronation day. The new Congress was organizing, and he was expecting to be voted the new speaker of the House of Representatives.
Instead, it became a time of humiliation. As of early afternoon, three votes had been held in the House, and McCarthy failed to win the majority he needed to become speaker.
Mike Madrid, a longtime Republican campaign consultant in California, summed it up in a social media post: “I’ve known Kevin McCarthy for 25 years. He never imagined the most humiliating day of his political career would be the day he was nominated to be Speaker of the House.”
It was also a humbling day for Republicans, who thanks to wins in the November elections, had secured a majority in the House, albeit small. The GOP held 222 seats to the 212 held by Democrats.
That thin majority proved to be a key problem for McCarthy. He could only afford to lose four votes. In the balloting held so far Tuesday, McCarthy had not reached the necessary 218. About 20 GOP opponents voted for others, such as Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, who told colleagues to back McCarthy.
Tuesday marked the first time in 100 years when a speaker was not picked on the first ballot. Without a speaker, the House by rule cannot start operating. So the logjam was holding up the first day of the new Congress.
Some GOP representatives told CNN during the hours-long counting that they were hearing concern from constituents over whether Republicans could really operate the House in a normal way.
The sides appeared dug in. By midafternoon, the House adjourned and what would happen next was unclear.
By virtue of redistricting, McCarthy now represents parts of Fresno County, as well as Kern, Tulare and Kings counties.
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This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 2:11 PM.