McCarthy loses the sixth ballot for the presidency of the House of Representatives 7:14
(CNN) — Kevin McCarthy did not receive the votes for speaker of the House of Representatives in the eighth round of voting this Thursday, in which 20 Republican representatives again voted against him.
The final tally was 212 votes for Hakeem Jeffries, 201 for McCarthy, 17 for Byron Donalds, 2 for Hern, 1 for Donald Trump, and one vote present.
For his part, Democratic Chairman Hakeem Jeffries had the unanimous support of his caucus.
After the vote, McCarthe was nominated for a ninth ballot by Republican Troy Nehls of Texas.
This Thursday’s defeat is striking, especially after the Republican pledged more key campaign concessions a day earlier to secure 218 votes.
Among the changes the hardline bloc was calling for was a rule change that would allow only one member to hold a vote to overthrow an incumbent president, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
McCarthy’s candidacy
The eighth ballot came after McCarthy was nominated by Rep. Brian Mast of Florida.
Mast said that when the discussion about who would be the speaker began behind closed doors months ago, he urged McCarthy to see members’ votes as a signal to their communities that they stand up for the Republican leader.
“Think of us as individuals who care about our communities, our neighborhoods, our friends, our neighbors and our country, and we tell you that we stand up for you because that’s what we do,” Mast said.
“And I couldn’t be prouder to be here today and vouch for you, my friend,” he added.
The Republican majority fell into chaos
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives is at an impasse over opposition to McCarthy by a group of conservatives. The fight, which began on the first day of the 118th Congress, has thrown the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives into chaos and undermined the party’s agenda.
The Vault will remain paralyzed until this conflict is resolved. The situation for McCarthy’s political future is bleak as his Republican allies are beginning to fear he will lose his presidential bid if the fight goes much further.
It’s not entirely clear whether McCarthy and his allies will secure the votes, and the longer the fight goes on, the more his presidential bid becomes in jeopardy.
House Republicans have 222 seats in the new Congress, so to reach 218 votes, McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes. His hurdle is that he faces a small but determined contingent of hard-line Conservatives who have so far successfully denied him the votes to secure the House gavel.
Editor’s note: This article was updated after the eighth round of voting.