President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Republicans’ failure to elect a speaker of the House is “embarrassing” but that the vote is not his “problem.”
Biden was asked to comment on the speaker race as he was leaving the White House. The president was en route to Kentucky to discuss the bipartisan infrastructure law with Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.
“It’s a little embarrassing it’s taking so long, and the way [Republicans] are dealing with one another, and the rest of the world is looking … What I’m focused on is getting things done,” Biden said.
“For the first time in 100 years, you can’t move,” he added, alluding to the fact that a speakership election hasn’t gone to multiple ballots since 1923. “I really mean it … It is not a good look. It’s not a good thing. This is the United States of America and I hope they get their act together,” he continued.
Biden also said the vote is “not my problem” and that he has “no idea” who will win.
US President Joe Biden speaks to the press before departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 4, 2023. – Biden is traveling to Covington, Kentucky, to tout infrastructure spending. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Republicans failed to elect a speaker on Tuesday. Republican California Rep. Kevin McCarthy led all other Republicans on all three ballots, but fell short the 218 votes needed, as a growing number of Republicans cast ballots for GOP Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. (RELATED: House Adjourns With No Speaker After McCarthy Vote Fails Three Times)
The race for the speakership will continue until a candidate receives a majority, with vote continuing Wednesday.
